Effect of lithium in murine immunodeficiency virus infected animals.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Effect of lithium in murine immunodeficiency virus infected animals.

Pathobiology. 1993;61(3-4):216-21. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/94030607
Gallicchio VS; Cibull ML; Hughes NK; Tse KF; Department of Medicine, University of Kentucky Medical Center,; Lexington.

Abstract: Murine AIDS (MAIDS) is a disease that shows many similarities to human HIV infection. The etiological agent of MAIDS is a defective murine leukemia virus that seems to be able to induce disease in the absence of viral replication. This animal model has been useful in stimulating the search of answers to questions and the formation of new hypotheses related to human AIDS. The monovalent cation lithium can influence a number of immunohematopoietic cell types and cellular processes where proliferation and differentiation occur. We describe here the result of in vivo studies investigating the effect of lithium treatment on MAIDS-infected mice. Viral control and lithium-treated animals were monitored for survival and development of MAIDS pathology. MAIDS animals treated with lithium demonstrated a marked reduction in their development of lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. Both MAIDS control and lithium-treated virus-infected mice developed evidence of lymphoma; however, the involvement was much more massive both at the gross and microscopic levels in the MAIDS control compared with the lithium-treated mice. These data suggest that lithium may be effective in modulating murine immunodeficiency virus infection and raise important questions related to the potential role lithium may play in the pathophysiological processes associated with retroviral infections.

Keywords: Animal Antiviral Agents Female Hematopoiesis/DRUG EFFECTS Hematopoietic Stem Cells/CYTOLOGY Leukemia Viruses, Murine/PATHOGENICITY Lithium/*THERAPEUTIC USE Lymph Nodes/ULTRASTRUCTURE Mice Mice, Inbred C57BL Murine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*DRUG THERAPY/PATHOLOGY/ PHYSIOPATHOLOGY Spleen/PATHOLOGY Survival Analysis JOURNAL ARTICLE
940228
M9420783

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