title: Naturally SIV-infected sooty mangabeys: are we closer to understanding why they do not develop AIDS?
abstract: Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV) infection of sooty mangabey (SM) monkeys (Cercocebus atys), a natural host species, does not induce CD4+ T cell depletion and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) despite chronic high levels of virus replication. In contrast, SIV infection of non-natural host species, such as rhesus macaques (RM), induces a disease that closely resembles AIDS in humans. The mechanisms underlying the lack of disease progression in SIV-infected SMs are incompletely understood, but certainly reflect a complex evolutionary adaptation whereby the host immune system is not significantly damaged by the highly replicating virus. It is now widely recognized that a better understanding of these mechanisms may provide clues to the pathogenesis of immunodeficiency in HIV-infected humans. In this article I discuss five different hypotheses that may account for the non-pathogenic course of infection in SIV-infected SMs and briefly review the available data supporting each of these hypotheses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology; Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine; Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. gsilves@rmy.emory.edu
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Silvestri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D016665:Cercocebus atys; D018450:Disease Progression; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology*; D016097:Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D013045:Species Specificity