Impact of short-term combined antiretroviral therapy on brain virus burden in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected and CD8+ lymphocyte-depleted rhesus macaques.

Antiretroviral drugs suppress virus burden in the cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-infected individuals; however, the direct effect of antiretrovirals on virus replication in brain parenchyma is poorly understood. We investigated the effect of short-term combined antiretroviral therapy (CART) on brain virus burden in rhesus monkeys using the CD8-depletion model of accelerated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) encephalitis. Four monkeys received CART (consisting of the nonpenetrating agents PMPA and RCV) for four weeks, beginning 28 days after SIV inoculation. Lower virus burdens were measured by real-time RT-PCR in four of four regions of brain from monkeys that received CART as compared with four SIV-infected, untreated controls; however, the difference was only significant for the frontal cortex (P < 0.05). In contrast, significantly lower virus burdens were measured in plasma and four of five lymphoid compartments from animals that received CART. Surprisingly, despite normalization of neuronal function in treated animals, the numbers of activated macrophages/microglia and the magnitude of TNF-alpha mRNA expression in brain were similar between treated animals and controls. These results suggest that short-term therapy with antiretrovirals that fail to penetrate the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier can reduce brain virus burden provided systemic virus burden is suppressed; however, longer treatment may be required to completely resolve encephalitic lesions and microglial activation, which may reflect the longer half-life of the principal target cells of HIV/SIV in the brain (macrophages) versus lymphoid tissues (T lymphocytes).

Tissue-specific reduction in DC-SIGN expression correlates with progression of pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

Studies were undertaken to determine whether previously described reductions in splenic DC-SIGN expression in simian acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are limited to pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. DC-SIGN expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in lymphoid tissues from AIDS-susceptible Asian macaque monkeys as compared with AIDS-resistant sooty mangabey monkeys in the presence and absence of SIV infection. The phenotype of DC-SIGN+ cells in susceptible and resistant species was identical and most consistent with macrophage identity. Significantly lower levels of DC-SIGN expression were identified in spleen, mesenteric lymph node, and bone marrow of macaques with AIDS (P<0.05). Reduced levels of splenic DC-SIGN correlated significantly with CD4T cell depletion in long-term pathogenic infection of macaques (P<0.01), whereas SIV-infected mangabeys retained high levels of DC-SIGN expression in spleen despite persistent infection. Reduced expression of DC-SIGN in spleen specifically characterizes pathogenic forms of SIV infection, correlates with disease progression, and may contribute to SIV pathogenesis.

Ephrin/Eph receptor expression in brain of adult nonhuman primates: implications for neuroadaptation.

In developing brain, Eph receptors and their ephrin ligands (Ephs/ephrins) are implicated in facilitating topographic guidance of a number of pathways, including the nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) pathways. In adult rodent brain, these molecules are implicated in neuronal plasticity associated with learning and memory. Cocaine significantly alters the expression of select members of this family of axonal guidance molecules, implicating Ephs, ephrins in drug-induced neuroadaptation. The potential contribution of Ephs, ephrins to cocaine-induced reorganization of striatal circuitry brain in primates [Saka, E., Goodrich, C., Harlan, P., Madras, B.K., Graybiel, A.M., 2004. Repetitive behaviors in monkeys are linked to specific striatal activation patterns. J. Neurosci. 24, 7557-7565] is unknown because there are no documented reports of Eph/ephrin expression or function in adult primate brain. We now report that brains of adult old and new world monkeys express mRNA encoding EphA4 receptor and ephrin-B2 ligand, implicated in topographic guidance of dopamine and striatal neurons during development. Their encoded proteins distributed highly selectively in regions of adult monkey brain. EphA4 mRNA levels were prominent in the DA-rich caudate/putamen, nucleus accumbens and globus pallidus, as well as the medial and orbitofrontal cortices, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus and cerebellum. Immunocytochemical localization of EphA4 protein revealed discrete expression in caudate/putamen, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, cerebellar Purkinje cells, pyramidal cells of frontal cortices (layers II, III and V) and the subgranular zone of the hippocampus. Evidence for EphA4 expression in dopamine neurons emerged from colocalization with tyrosine-hydroxylase-positive terminals in striatum and substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area cell bodies. The association of axonal guidance molecules with drug-induced reorganization of adult primate brain circuitry warrants investigation.

Alterations in expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in the simian immunodeficiency virus model of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex.

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection is the most common disseminated bacterial infection in untreated patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We investigated the potential role of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in the pathogenesis of disseminated MAC, using the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/macaque model of AIDS. Macaques were inoculated with SIV, followed by challenge with a pathogenic AIDS isolate of M. avium 14 days later. After challenge with M. avium, marked increases in serum MCP-1 levels were detected in SIV-infected macaques, a finding that was duplicated in coinoculated bronchoalveolar macrophages. MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in SIV-infected macaques than in non-SIV-infected controls (327.1 vs. 151.5 pg/mL, respectively; P=.04), suggesting that up-regulation of MCP-1 contributes to the development of progressive mycobacterial disease. Similarly, morphometric analysis revealed increased expression of MCP-1 in hepatic microgranulomas from SIV-infected macaques. We conclude that the pronounced increases in MCP-1 levels demonstrated in tissue and serum samples after M. avium inoculation may play a role in the development of disseminated mycobacterial disease.