title: T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) analysis during acute intrarectal infection of cynomolgus monkeys with pathogenic chimeric simian human immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: Several studies have shown the importance of evaluating Recent Thymic Emigrants (RTEs) by quantification of T cell receptor-rearrangement excision circles (TRECs), as a measure of de novo T cell generation during human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. To determine whether acute viral infection may have an impact on TRECs, cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were infected intrarectally with simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) 89.6P(cy11) and the number of signal-joint (sj) TRECs was determined in purified CD4+ and CD8+ populations for up to 28 weeks post-infection. Four weeks after infection, TRECs levels significantly decreased in both CD3+ CD4+ and in CD3+ CD8+ T lymphocytes of infected monkeys, whereas they remained unchanged in uninfected animals. This reduction was followed by a progressive TRECs number recovery in CD3+ CD4+ T lymphocytes that positively correlated with changes in the levels of circulating CD3+ CD4+ T cells. In the CD3+ CD8+ T cell subset, TRECs number remained significantly low and inversely correlated with the increase in the percentages of CD3+ CD8+ T cells. These data suggest that SHIV89.6P(cy11) intrarectal infection of cynomolgus monkeys differently affects TRECs content in CD3+ CD4+ and CD3+ CD8+ T cell subsets.
authors.affiliation: National AIDS Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bona
authors.forename: Iole
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Macchia
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baroncelli
authors.forename: Donatella R M
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Negri
authors.forename: Pasqualina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leone
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Pavone-Cossut
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Catone
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Buffa
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciccozzi
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heeney
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fagrouch
authors.forename: Fausto
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Titti
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002678:Chimera / Q000235:genetics; D004270:DNA, Circular / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D019672:Genes, T-Cell Receptor; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D016097:Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D004270:DNA, Circular