Systemic and Intestinal Immune Responses to HIV-2287 Infection in Macaca nemestrina

Nonhuman primate models of human AIDS have been used successfully to evaluate candidate vaccines and infection intervention therapies. Successes of pathogenicity studies in primate models have been limited because of the varied infection outcomes and characteristic low number of study animals. The acutely pathogenic HIV-2287-Macaca nemstrina model has shown promise both in antiviral drug evaluation and in pathogenicity studies. Here we describe virus replication, spread, and host responses during the first 28 days of HIV-2287 infection. Focusing on 18 macaques from a larger 27-macaque study, we report changing virus loads, CD4+ cell depletions, and antibody responses both systemically and in the mucosa of the small intestine. After intravenous inoculation, blood and intestinal tissue were collected from pairs of macaques at 12 hr and 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 21, and 28 days postinfection. Specimens were examined for evidence of infection by quantitative cultures, in situ hybridization, lymphocyte subset monito...