Sepsis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sepsis, including details on septicemia, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment.

Evidence for persistent, occult infection in neonatal macaques following perinatal transmission of simian-human immunodeficiency virus SF162P3.

Jayaraman P, Zhu T, Misher L, Mohan D, Kuller L, Polacino P, Richardson BA, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H, Anderson D, Hu SL, Haigwood NL

Departments of Pathobiology, National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

To model human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) perinatal transmission, we studied infection of simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) SF162P3 in 10 pregnant Macaca nemestrina females and their offspring. Four of nine infants born to and suckled by these dams had evidence of infection, a transmission rate of 44.4% (95% confidence interval, 13.7% to 78.8%). We quantified transplacentally acquired and de novo Env-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and neutralizing antibodies in newborns. Transmission of escape variants was confirmed. In utero infection (n = 1) resulted in high viremia, depletion of peripheral CD4+ T cells, and rapid evolution of env in blood and tissues. Peripartum or postpartum SHIV infection (n = 3) resulted in postacute viral control that was undetectable by very sensitive multiplex PCR, despite increasing antibodies. Seropositive infants with highly controlled viremia had homogeneous peripheral blood env sequences, and their tissues had <3 copies per million cells. A high incidence of seropositive virus-low or -negative SHIV infection in infant macaques has implications for HIV type 1 perinatal transmission and detection.

Published 28 December 2006 in J Virol, 81(2): 822-34.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Sepsis Research Today. All Rights Reserved.