title: Early regeneration of thymic progenitors in rhesus macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: The thymus plays a critical role in the maturation and production of T lymphocytes and is a target of infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the related simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Using the SIV/macaque model of AIDS, we examined the early effects of SIV on the thymus. We found that thymic infection by SIV resulted in increased apoptosis 7-14 d after infection, followed by depletion of thymocyte progenitors by day 21. A marked rebound in thymocyte progenitors occurred by day 50 and was accompanied by increased levels of cell proliferation in the thymus. Our results demonstrate a marked increase in thymic progenitor activity very early in the course of SIV infection, long before marked declines in peripheral CD4(+) T cell counts.
authors.affiliation: New England Regional Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Southborough, Massachusetts 01772, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wykrzykowska
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenzweig
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Veazey
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halvorsen
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Desrosiers
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lackner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002455:Cell Division; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D012038:Regeneration; D016097:Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus; D013234:Stem Cells; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology