Variable infections with and serologic responses of rabbits to five different HIV-1 strains, including one neural tissue isolate.
The infectivity of different strains of HIV-1 in rabbits was investigated. The HIV-1RF and HIV-1MN inocula induced anti-envelope antibodies detectable by Western blot, and in the case of HIV-1RF, these antibodies were also detectable by ELISA. The peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and lymph nodes from rabbits inoculated with HIV-1IIIB, HIV-1MN and HIV-1Z3, were positive for virus by culture and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HIV-1BRVA, originally isolated from a patient with AIDS dementia, infected the brain of the inoculated rabbit, as indicated by both virus culture and PCR. In this case PCR was positive using four different primer pairs. Throughout the study, rabbits showed no clinical signs of HIV-1 infection and no remarkable histopathology was observed in the tissues examined. The apparent differences in infectivity and tissue tropism of the five HIV-1 strains demonstrated here provide additional evidence that the rabbit may serve as a useful model for studying HIV-1 infection and pathogenesis.
Sawyer
L A
LA
Division of Virology, Product Quality Control and Transfusion Science, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Carrow
E
E
Snoy
P J
PJ
Hewlett
I K
IK
Quinnan
G V
GV
Anand
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology; D002213:Capsid / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000382:microbiology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011817:Rabbits
D004279:DNA, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies