RANTES, IFN-gamma, CCR1, and CCR5 mRNA expression in peripheral blood, lymph node, and bronchoalveolar lavage mononuclear cells during primary simian immunodeficiency virus infection of macaques. (1/2811)

Primary infection of macaques with pathogenic isolates of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) (as a model of HIV infection in humans) represents a unique opportunity to study early lentivirus/host interactions. We sought to determine whether there is a temporal relationship linking SIV replication and dissemination and the expression of the chemokine RANTES (regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted) and the SIV/HIV coreceptor CCR5 in different tissues during acute SIV infection of macaques. Four cynomolgus macaques were inoculated intravenously with a pathogenic primary isolate of SIVmac251. RT-PCR was used to monitor the expression of RANTES and CCR5 mRNA in fresh isolated mononuclear cells from blood, lymph node, and bronchoalveolar lavages. These expressions were compared to those of IFN-gamma as an indicator of the development of the immune response and to another receptor for RANTES, CCR1, which is not described as a coreceptor for SIV/HIV-1 entry. An enhancement of CCR1/CCR5 mRNA expression was noticed during primary SIVmac251 infection of macaques, mainly in tissue. In the three different compartments investigated, IFN-gamma and RANTES overexpression was noticed by the time of systemic viral replication containment. Our results put CCR5 and RANTES mRNA expression back in the context of inflammatory and immune responses to SIV primary infection.  (+info)

Effect of the attenuating deletion and of sequence alterations evolving in vivo on simian immunodeficiency virus C8-Nef function. (2/2811)

The simian immunodeficiency virus macC8 (SIVmacC8) variant has been used in a European Community Concerted Action project to study the efficacy and safety of live attenuated SIV vaccines in a large number of macaques. The attenuating deletion in the SIVmacC8 nef-long terminal repeat region encompasses only 12 bp and is "repaired" in a subset of infected animals. It is unknown whether C8-Nef retains some activity. Since it seems important to use only well-characterized deletion mutants in live attenuated vaccine studies, we analyzed the relevance of the deletion, and the duplications and point mutations selected in infected macaques for Nef function in vitro. The deletion, affecting amino acids 143 to 146 (DMYL), resulted in a dramatic decrease in Nef stability and function. The initial 12-bp duplication resulted in efficient Nef expression and an intermediate phenotype in infectivity assays, but it did not significantly restore the ability of Nef to stimulate viral replication and to downmodulate CD4 and class I major histocompatibility complex cell surface expression. The additional substitutions however, which subsequently evolved in vivo, gradually restored these Nef functions. It was noteworthy that coinfection experiments in the T-lymphoid 221 cell line revealed that even SIVmac nef variants carrying the original 12-bp deletion readily outgrew an otherwise isogenic virus containing a 182-bp deletion in the nef gene. Thus, although C8-Nef is unstable and severely impaired in in vitro assays, it maintains some residual activity to stimulate viral replication.  (+info)

Lentivirus vectors using human and simian immunodeficiency virus elements. (3/2811)

Lentivirus vectors based on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 (HIV-1) constitute a recent development in the field of gene therapy. A key property of HIV-1-derived vectors is their ability to infect nondividing cells. Although high-titer HIV-1-derived vectors have been produced, concerns regarding safety still exist. Safety concerns arise mainly from the possibility of recombination between transfer and packaging vectors, which may give rise to replication-competent viruses with pathogenic potential. We describe a novel lentivirus vector which is based on HIV, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and which we refer to as HIV/SIVpack/G. In this system, an HIV-1-derived genome is encapsidated by SIVmac core particles. These core particles are pseudotyped with VSV glycoprotein G. Because the nucleotide homology between HIV-1 and SIVmac is low, the likelihood of recombination between vector elements should be reduced. In addition, the packaging construct (SIVpack) for this lentivirus system was derived from SIVmac1A11, a nonvirulent SIV strain. Thus, the potential for pathogenicity with this vector system is minimal. The transduction ability of HIV/SIVpack/G was demonstrated with immortalized human lymphocytes, human primary macrophages, human bone marrow-derived CD34(+) cells, and primary mouse neurons. To our knowledge, these experiments constitute the first demonstration that the HIV-1-derived genome can be packaged by an SIVmac capsid. We demonstrate that the lentivirus vector described here recapitulates the biological properties of HIV-1-derived vectors, although with increased potential for safety in humans.  (+info)

Early short-term 9-[2-(R)-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine treatment favorably alters the subsequent disease course in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected newborn Rhesus macaques. (4/2811)

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of newborn macaques is a useful animal model of human pediatric AIDS to study disease pathogenesis and to develop intervention strategies aimed at delaying disease. In the present study, we demonstrate that very early events of infection greatly determine the ultimate disease course, as short-term antiviral drug administration during the initial viremia stage significantly delayed the onset of AIDS. Fourteen newborn macaques were inoculated orally with uncloned, highly virulent SIVmac251. The four untreated control animals showed persistently high virus levels and poor antiviral immune responses; they developed fatal immunodeficiency within 15 weeks. In contrast, SIV-infected newborn macaques which were started on 9-[2-(R)-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine (PMPA) treatment at 5 days of age and continued for either 14 or 60 days showed reduced virus levels and enhanced antiviral immune responses. This short-term PMPA treatment did not induce detectable emergence of SIV mutants with reduced in vitro susceptibility to PMPA. Although viremia increased in most animals after PMPA treatment was withdrawn, all animals remained disease-free for at least 6 months. Our data suggest that short-term treatment with a potent antiviral drug regimen during the initial viremia will significantly prolong AIDS-free survival for HIV-infected infants and adults.  (+info)

Protection of macaques against intrarectal infection by a combination immunization regimen with recombinant simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmne gp160 vaccines. (5/2811)

We previously reported that immunization with recombinant simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmne envelope (gp160) vaccines protected macaques against intravenous challenge by the cloned homologous virus E11S but that this protection was only partially effective against the uncloned virus, SIVmne. In the present study, we examine the protective efficacy of this immunization regimen against infection by a mucosal route. We found that the same gp160-based vaccines were highly effective against intrarectal infection not only with the E11S clone but also with the uncloned SIVmne. Protection against mucosal infection is therefore achievable by parenteral immunization with recombinant envelope vaccines. Protection appears to correlate with high levels of SIV-specific antibodies and, in animals protected against the uncloned virus, the presence of serum-neutralizing activities. To understand the basis for the differential efficacies against the uncloned virus by the intravenous versus the intrarectal routes, we examined viral sequences recovered from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of animals early after infection by both routes. We previously showed that the majority (85%) of the uncloned SIVmne challenge stock contained V1 sequences homologous to the molecular clone from which the vaccines were made (E11S type), with the remainder (15%) containing multiple conserved changes (the variant types). In contrast to intravenously infected animals, from which either E11S-type or the variant type V1 sequences could be recovered in significant proportions, animals infected intrarectally had predominantly E11S-type sequences. Preferential transmission or amplification of the E11S-type viruses may therefore account in part for the enhanced efficacy of the recombinant gp160 vaccines against the uncloned virus challenge by the intrarectal route compared with the intravenous route.  (+info)

Dramatic rise in plasma viremia after CD8(+) T cell depletion in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques. (6/2811)

To determine the role of CD8(+) T cells in controlling simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replication in vivo, we examined the effect of depleting this cell population using an anti-CD8 monoclonal antibody, OKT8F. There was on average a 99.9% reduction of CD8 cells in peripheral blood in six infected Macaca mulatta treated with OKT8F. The apparent CD8 depletion started 1 h after antibody administration, and low CD8 levels were maintained until day 8. An increase in plasma viremia of one to three orders of magnitude was observed in five of the six macaques. The injection of a control antibody to an infected macaque did not induce a sustained viral load increase, nor did it significantly reduce the number of CD8(+) T cells. These results demonstrate that CD8 cells play a crucial role in suppressing SIV replication in vivo.  (+info)

Viral burden and disease progression in rhesus monkeys infected with chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency viruses. (7/2811)

To determine the role of viral burden in simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)-induced disease, cellular provirus and plasma viral RNA levels were measured after inoculation of rhesus monkeys with four different SHIVs. These SHIVs included SHIV-HXBc2 and SHIV-89.6, constructed with env, tat, rev, and vpu derived from either cell line-passaged or primary patient isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1; the viral quasispecies SHIV-89.6P derived after in vivo passage of SHIV-89.6; and a molecular clone, SHIV-KB9, derived from SHIV-89.6P. SHIV-HXBc2 and SHIV-89.6 are nonpathogenic in rhesus monkeys; SHIV-89.6P and SHIV-KB9 cause rapid CD4(+) T cell depletion and an immunodeficiency syndrome. Relative SHIV provirus levels were highest during primary infection in monkeys infected with SHIV-89.6P, the virus that caused the most rapid and dramatic CD4(+) T cell depletion. However, by 10 weeks postinoculation, provirus levels were similar in monkeys infected with the pathogenic and nonpathogenic chimeric viruses. The virus infections that resulted in the highest peak and chronic viral RNA levels were the pathogenic viruses SHIV-89.6P and SHIV-KB9. SHIV-89. 6P uniformly caused rapid and profound CD4(+) T cell depletion and immunodeficiency. Infection with the SHIV-KB9 resulted in very low CD4(+) T cell counts without seroconversion in some monkeys and a substantial but less profound CD4(+) T cell depletion and rapid seroconversion in others. Surprisingly, the level of plasma viremia did not differ between SHIV-KB9-infected animals exhibiting these contrasting outcomes, suggesting that host factors may play an important role in AIDS virus pathogenesis.  (+info)

Secretion of beta-chemokines by bronchoalveolar lavage cells during primary infection of macaques inoculated with attenuated nef-deleted or pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus strain mac251. (8/2811)

Primary infection of macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) as a model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection represents a unique opportunity to investigate early lentivirus-host interactions. In order to gain insight into immunopathogenic events taking place in the lung during lentiviral infection, we analysed lymphocyte expansion in the lung and chemokine secretion by mononuclear cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BALMCs) during primary infection by a pathogenic and a non-pathogenic SIV. Two groups of cynomolgus macaques were inoculated intravenously with a fully pathogenic isolate of SIVmac251 or with an attenuated, nef-deleted, molecular clone of SIVmac251. Spontaneous MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta and RANTES production was assessed by ELISA in supernatants of short-term cultured BALMCs. Kinetics of haematological, virological and immunological parameters were investigated simultaneously. All 11 inoculated animals became infected. Monkeys inoculated with the nef-deleted SIV clone exhibited a significantly reduced plasma virus load and a less pronounced accumulation of lymphocytes in the lung compared to monkeys infected with the pathogenic SIVmac251 isolate. Compared to pre-infection levels, we observed an increase in the levels of RANTES, MIP1-alpha and MIP1-beta production in the two groups of monkeys, by the time of peak viraemia. Strikingly, a greater enhancement of RANTES and MIP-1alpha production was detected in monkeys infected with the attenuated virus. Given the potential influence of beta-chemokines on the immune response and virus replication, such results suggest that RANTES, MIP1-alpha and MIP1-beta could contribute to the singular features of the immune response elicited during infection of macaques with an attenuated SIV.  (+info)