JVI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 20 May 2009

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Lay, M. D. H. Articles by Davenport, M. P PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lay, M. D. H. Articles by Davenport, M. P

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.00552-09
Copyright (c) 2009, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Is gut the major source of virus in early SIV infection?

Matthew D. H. Lay, Janka Petravic, Shari N. Gordon, Jessica Engram, Guido Silvestri, and Miles P Davenport^*

Complex Systems in Biology Group, Centre for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Kensington NSW 2052, Australia; Departments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, and Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: m.davenport{at}unsw.edu.au.

The acute phases of HIV and SIV infection are characterized by rapid and profound depletion of CD4+ T cells from the gut of infected individuals. The large number of CD4+ T cells in the gut (a large fraction of which is activated and expresses the HIV/SIV co-receptor CCR5), the high level of infection of these cells, and the temporal coincidence of this CD4+ T cell depletion with the peak of virus in plasma in acute infection suggest that the intestinal mucosa may be the major source of virus driving the peak viral load. Here we use data on CD4+ T cell proportions in the lamina propria of the rectum of SIV infected rhesus macaques (that progress to AIDS) and sooty mangabeys (that do not progress) to show that, in both species, the depletion of CD4+ T cells from this mucosal site and its maximum loss rate are often observed several days before the peak in viral load, with few CD4+ T cells remaining in the rectum by the time of peak viral load. By contrast, the maximum loss rate of CD4+ T cells from broncho-alveolar lavage and lymph node coincides with the peak in virus. Analysis of the kinetics of depletion suggests that, in both rhesus macaques and sooty mangabeys, CD4+ T cells in the intestinal mucosa are a highly susceptible population for infection but not a major source of plasma virus in acute SIV infection.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Dinoso, J. B., Rabi, S. A., Blankson, J. N., Gama, L., Mankowski, J. L., Siliciano, R. F., Zink, M. C., Clements, J. E. (2009). A Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaque Model To Study Viral Reservoirs That Persist during Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. J. Virol. 83: 9247-9257 [Abstract] [Full Text]