Characterisation of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected cells in pigtail macaques

Abstract

Defining which cells become infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in vivo should assist in unravelling the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/SIV infection. HIV/SIV infection of CD4(+) T cells resulted in down-regulation of CD3 and CD4 surface molecules in vitro, however this phenomenon is poorly characterised in vivo. Intracellular SIV p27 was studied by flow cytometry in serial blood samples and lymph node samples during acute infection of 17 SIVmac-infected pigtail macaques. Two weeks after infection, a mean of 56±6.8% the p27(+) cells were lymphocytes negative for surface CD4 and CD3, and indeed the highest proportion of SIV infected cells were found in the sm..