Is gut the major source of virus in early SIV infection? - Related Articles
Is gut the major source of virus in early SIV infection?
J Virol. 2009 May 20;
Authors: Lay MD, Petravic J, Gordon SN, Engram J, Silvestri G, Davenport MP
The acute phases of HIV and SIV infection are characterized by rapid and profound depletion of CD4+ T cells from the gut of infected individuals. The large number of CD4+ T cells in the gut (a large fraction of which is activated and expresses the HIV/SIV co-receptor CCR5), the high level of infection of these cells, and the temporal coincidence of this CD4+ T cell depletion with the peak of virus in plasma in acute infection suggest that the intestinal mucosa may be the major source of virus driving the peak viral load. Here we use data on CD4+ T cell proportions in the lamina propria of the rectum of SIV infected rhesus macaques (that progress to AIDS) and sooty mangabeys (that do not progress) to show that, in both species, the depletion of CD4+ T cells from this mucosal site and its maximum loss rate are often observed several days before the peak in viral load, with few CD4+ T cells remaining in the rectum by the time of peak viral load. By contrast, the maximum loss rate of CD4+ T cells from broncho-alveolar lavage and lymph node coincides with the peak in virus. Analysis of the kinetics of depletion suggests that, in both rhesus macaques and sooty mangabeys, CD4+ T cells in the intestinal mucosa are a highly susceptible population for infection but not a major source of plasma virus in acute SIV infection.
PMID: 19458001 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] [PubMed-HIV]