Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a worldwide epidemic, so the development of vaccines and antiviral agents effective against the causative agent, human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III), is vital. This work would be greatly simplified if a suitable animal model could be developed. Here we report the isolation of an HTLV-III-related retrovirus, STLV-III/Delta, from rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with transmissible simian AIDS (SAIDS) and from asymptomatic sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys). SAIDS was initially diagnosed in several macaques previously inoculated with tissue homogenates of mangabey origin. Western blot analysis of both the mangabey and macaque sera demonstrated the presence of antibody cross-reactive primarily with the HTLV-III proteins p24 and p61. In a related experiment, analysis of these same sera revealed simian antibody to STLV-III/Delta proteins similar, but not identical, to those of HTLV-III with estimated relative molecular masses (Mrs) of 16,000 (16K), 26K, 35K, 45K, 60K and 110K. Infection of the mangabey, an African primate, with an HTLV-III-related virus may provide a clue to the origin of HTLV-III in humans. The apparent difference in susceptibility to SAIDS-like disease between infected macaques and mangabeys suggests that these species may respond differently to STLV-III infection.

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Mouse hepatitis virus persists in cultures of a subline (designated LM-K) of mouse LM cells but produces a lytic infection in L-2 cells. Persistence in the LM-K cells was not accompanied by production of ts mutants or of soluble anti-MHV factors. Infectious center assay demonstrated an approximately 500-fold lower level of infectibility by MHV of the LM-K cells as compared to L-2 cells. On an infected cell basis, production levels of infectious progeny and viral RNA were comparable between the two cell lines. The extent of virus-induced cell-cell fusion, however, was markedly reduced in the LM-K cells. Cell-mixing experiments showed that both infected L-2 and LM-K cells have the capacity of fusing with neighboring uninfected L-2 cells but not with uninfected LM-K cells. This suggests that the decreased level of fusion observed in the LM-K infection is due not to absence of viral fusion protein at the cell surface, but rather to an inherent resistance of the LM-K cell membrane to MHV-induced fusion. It is believed that such fusion resistance in LM-K cells moderates virus dissemination throughout the culture, thereby contributing to a state of virus persistence.

To further investigate the possible role of apolipoprotein A-IV (apo A-IV) in the short-term control of food intake, we examined the kinetics of intestinal apo A-IV synthesis and release into lymph and plasma after intragastric delivery of physiological amounts of lipid. Within 30 min of intragastric administration of 0.1 g of triglyceride, plasma and lymph levels of apo A-IV were similar to those produced by exogenous apo A-IV that inhibit food intake. Within 15 min, 5% of gastrically delivered radioactive lipid reached the distal small bowel and cecum; by 30 min radioactivity was evenly distributed throughout the small intestine, with 10-15% of the load in the distal gut. By 30 min, synthesis of apo A-IV was significantly stimulated in proximal and distal jejunum and distal ileum and remained elevated up to 4 h after the delivery of lipid. Our results indicate that the delivery of physiological amounts of lipid into the stomach produces a significant and rapid stimulation of apo A-IV secretion into lymph and plasma, together with a rapid delivery of lipid and increases in mucosal synthesis of apo A-IV along the entire length of the small intestine. The results support a possible role for apo A-IV in the short-term control of food intake and suggest a role for the entire gut in the integrative response of apo A-IV to a fat meal.