Abstract:
The natural hosts of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) are African monkeys including sooty mangabeys, mandrills and African green monkeys. SIVs, however, have also been isolated from captive Asian macaques such as pigtailed, rhesus and stumptailed macaques. The Asian monkeys are thought to have acquired SIVs in captivity by infection from African monkeys. Analysis of molecularly cloned proviruses of pigtailed macaque (SIV/mne) and rhesus monkey (SIV/mac) indicated a high degree of nucleotide sequence homology between these two isolates, thus suggesting that pigtailed and rhesus macaques were infected with the same virus or very closely related viruses. Comparative nucleotide sequence analysis of different SIVs from African monkeys and Asian macaques indicated that the sooty mangabey might be the source of infection of Asian macaques. To further investigate the origin of SIVs in captive monkeys, we have molecularly analyzed SIV from a stumptailed macaque (SIV/StM). The monkey was housed in an outdoor breeding colony at the California Primate Research Center in 1976 and had died from acquired immunodeficiency and lymphoma in 1977. In 1986, homogenate from a frozen lymph node specimen of this StM was inoculated intravenously into a juvenile rhesus macaque (#21685). The monkey developed lymphadenopathy. Intravenous inoculation of whole blood from monkey #21685 into a second rhesus (#22579) caused an AIDS-like immunosuppressive disease. We have amplified by PCR the LTR and gag regions of SIV/StM from total cell DNA obtained by infection of PHA-stimulated human PBLs with SIV from monkey #22579. Nucleotide sequences of SIV/StM LTR and gag have been determined. Comparative sequence analysis of the gag genes of SIV/StM with other known SIV DNAs indicated 84% homology with SIV/mac and SIV/mne, isolated from Asian rhesus and pigtailed macaques, respectively, and also 84% homology with SIV/smm, isolated from African sooty mangabey. On the other hand, SIV/mac and SIV/mne were 96% homologous to each other and had 87% homology with SIV/smm. The nucleotide sequence divergence of SIV/StM from the other SIVs suggests that stumptailed macaque was infected with an SIV different from other Asian monkeys studied to date.
Keywords: Animal AIDS-Related Complex/COMPLICATIONS Base Sequence Cells, Cultured Cloning, Molecular DNA, Viral/*CHEMISTRY Genes, gag Human Lymphoma/GENETICS Macaca Papio Proviruses/GENETICS Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*GENETICS SIV/*GENETICS ABSTRACT 910730
M9170987
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