Gastrointestinal Tract as a Major Site of CD4$^+$T Cell Depletion and Viral Replication in SIV Infection

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 280; no. 5362; pp. 427 - 431
• Main Authors: Veazey, Ronald S., DeMaria, MaryAnn, Chalifoux, Laura V., Shvetz, Daniel E., Pauley, Douglas R., Knight, Heather L., Rosenzweig, Michael, Johnson, R. Paul, Desrosiers, Ronald C., Lackner, Andrew A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 17.04.1998; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: AIDS/HIV; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - virology; Cells; Colon - immunology; Colon - virology; Digestive system; Experimental viral diseases and models; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immunity, Mucosal; Immunologic Memory; Infections; Infectious diseases; Intestinal Mucosa - immunology; Intestinal Mucosa - virology; Intestine, Small - immunology; Intestine, Small - virology; Intestines; Jejunum; Lymph nodes; Lymphocyte Activation; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes - immunology; Lymphocytes - virology; Lymphoid tissue; Lymphoid Tissue - immunology; Lymphoid Tissue - virology; Macaca mulatta; Macrophages - virology; Male; Medical sciences; Memory; Microbiology; Monkeys & apes; Mucosa; Numbers; Receptors, Interleukin-2 - analysis; Replicative cycle, interference, host-virus relations, pathogenicity, miscellaneous strains; Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - immunology; Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - virology; Simian Immunodeficiency Virus - immunology; Simian Immunodeficiency Virus - pathogenicity; Simian Immunodeficiency Virus - physiology; T lymphocytes; Viral diseases; Viral Load; Virology; Virulence; Virus Replication; Tropism; Virus multiplication; Digestive system; Pathogenesis; Gut; Retroviridae; Early stage; Cellular immunity; Macaca mulatta; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Vertebrata; Experimental disease; Mammalia; Viral disease; T-Lymphocyte; Primates; Simioidea; Simian immunodeficiency virus
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5362.427

Human and simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV and SIV) replicate optimally in activated memory CD4$^+$ T cells, a cell type that is abundant in the intestine. SIV infection of rhesus monkeys resulted in profound and selective depletion of CD4$^+$ T cells in the intestine within days of infection, before any such changes in peripheral lymphoid tissues. The loss of CD4$^+$ T cells in the intestine occurred coincident with productive infection of large numbers of mononuclear cells at this site. The intestine appears to be a major target for SIV replication and the major site of CD4$^+$ T cell loss in early SIV infection.