Cross-sectional studies of primates have revealed that natural neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses to adeno-associated viruses (AAV) span multiple serotypes. This differs from the phenotype of the NAb response to an AAV vector delivered to seronegative nonhuman primates that is typically restricted to the administered AAV serotype. To better understand the mechanism by which natural AAV infections result in broad NAb responses, we conducted a longitudinal study spanning 10 years in which we evaluated serum-circulating AAV NAb levels in captive-housed chimpanzees. In a cohort of 25 chimpanzees we identified 3 distinct groups of animals: those that never seroconverted to AAV (naïve), those that were persistently seropositive (chronic), and those that seroconverted during the 10-year period (acute). For the chronic group we found a broad seroresponse characterized by NAbs reacting to multiple AAV serotypes. A similar cross-neutralization pattern of NAbs was observed in the acute group. These data support our hypothesis that a single natural infection with AAV induces a broadly cross-reactive NAb response to multiple AAV serotypes.
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