title: Development of AIDS in a chimpanzee infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1.
abstract: The condition of a chimpanzee (C499) infected with three different isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) for over 10 years progressed to AIDS. Disease development in this animal was characterized by (i) a decline in CD4+ cells over the last 3 years; (ii) an increase in viral loads in plasma; (iii) the presence of a virus, termed HIV-1JC, which is cytopathic for chimpanzee peripheral blood mononuclear cells; and (iv) the presence of an opportunistic infection and blood dyscrasias. Genetic analysis of the V1-V2 region of the envelope gene of HIV-1JC showed that the virus present in C499 was significantly divergent from all inoculating viruses (> or = 16% divergent at the amino acid level) and was suggestive of a large quasispecies. Blood from C499 transfused into an uninfected chimpanzee (C455) induced a rapid and sustained CD4+-cell decline in the latter animal, concomitant with high plasma viral loads. These results show that HIV-1 can induce AIDS in chimpanzees and suggest that long-term passage of HIV-1 in chimpanzees can result in the development of a more pathogenic virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. fnovembr@rmy.emory.edu
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Novembre
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saucier
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Klumpp
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: O'Neil
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Guenthner
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Swenson
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: McClure
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015497:HIV-1; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000821:virology*