Treatment of early and established Cryptococcus neoformans infection with radiolabeled antibodies in immunocompetent mice.

We investigated the utility of radioimmunotherapy (RIT) in early and established cryptococcal infection in immunocompetent mice. RIT with (213)Bi-18B7 antibody completely eliminated fungus from mouse lungs and brains for early infection, while (188)Re-18B7 significantly reduced CFU in the lungs or both lungs and brains during early and established infection, respectively. The results point to the independence of RIT of the immune status of the host, which is encouraging for translation of this strategy into the clinic.