Simian Immunodeficiency Virus SIVagm.sab Infection of Caribbean African Green Monkeys: a New Model for the Study of SIV Pathogenesis in Natural Hosts

Abstract

Caribbean-born African green monkeys (AGMs) were classified as .). CD4 ؉ T-cell counts in the blood showed a transient depletion at the peak of VL, and then returned to near preinfection values by day 28 p.i. and remained relatively stable during the chronic infection. Preservation of CD4 T cells was also found in lymph nodes (LNs) of chronic SIVagm.sab-infected Caribbean AGMs. No activation of CD4؉ T cells was detected in the periphery in SIV-infected Caribbean AGMs. These virological and immunological profiles from peripheral blood and LNs were identical to those previously reported in African-born AGMs infected with the same viral strain (SIVagm.sab92018). Due to these similarities, we conclude that Caribbean AGMs are a useful alternative to AGMs of African origin as a model for the study of SIV infection in natural African hosts.

Replicating adenovirus vector prime/protein boost strategies for HIV vaccine development

“…Alternatively, sensitive surrogate assays for mucosal responses that can be performed readily and repeatedly on peripheral blood need to be developed. Important information can also be gained from animal models where SIV infection does not cause disease, and where innate immune mechanisms seem to be playing a role, including sooty mangabeys, African green monkeys, and the recently described Caribbean African green monkey [136]. Only through these collective efforts can we hope to design an efficacious vaccine and conquer what has proven to be one of the greatest pandemic diseases in our lifetime.…”

Acute Loss of Intestinal CD4+ T Cells Is Not Predictive of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Virulence

“…SIV infections in their natural African non-human primate hosts are characterized by 1) active viral replication, with set-point levels similar, or even higher than those reported in pathogenic infection (2-10); 2) transient depletion of peripheral CD4 ϩ T cells during primary infection that rebound to preinfection levels during the chronic stage (3,4,7,9,10,32,33); and 3) transient and moderate increases in immune activation and proliferation during acute infection, with return to baseline levels during the chronic phase (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10). Altogether, the action of all these factors results in an active persistent infection, which generally has no deleterious consequences on the natural hosts of SIV.…”

“…P rimate lentiviral infections lead to one of three potential outcomes: pathogenic infection with progression to AIDS, as in humans infected with HIV and rhesus macaques (Rh) 3 infected with SIVmac (1); lack of disease progression despite persistent viral replication, as in the natural African nonhuman primate hosts of SIVs (2-10); or transient SIV replication and clearance upon cross-species transmission in partially permissive hosts (11)(12)(13)(14).…”

Simian-Human Immunodeficiency Viruses and Their Impact on Non-Human Primate Models for AIDS

“…Experimental SIV infection of sooty mangabeys has also ceased due to their endangered status, but previously acquired samples and animals with existing SIV infections are permitted for study. Two other animal models of natural SIV infection that are available for experimental AIDS research include the African green monkey (AGM), and more recently, mandrills that are native to Gabon [11,12]. Although initial studies were performed in AGM of African origin, the import of this NHP species to the Caribbean has facilitated their availability, making AGM of Caribbean origin the source of more recent SIV studies.…”