Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

ANTIBODIES TO SIMIAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC RETROVIRUS TYPE III IN AFRICAN GREEN MONKEYS AND RECOGNITION OF STLV-III VIRAL PROTEINS BY AIDS AND RELATED SERA

1985; Elsevier BV; Volume: 325; Issue: 8441 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0140-6736(85)92818-1

1474-547X

Phyllis Kanki, Reinhard Kurth, Walter Becker, G R Dreesman, M. F. McLane, Max Essex,

RNA regulation and disease

It has been theorized that the agent responsible for AIDS originated in Africa. An HTLV-I related virus found in African primates has in vitro characteristics and genetic structure similar to that of HTLV-I virus found in man and has been associated with lymphoma in 3 macaque species A retrovirus similar to HTLV-III has also been isolated from diseased macaques some of whom had immune system disease. To test the possibility that HTLV-III virus might have been transmitted to man via primates evidence was sought for an HTLV-related virus in primates from areas of Africa associated with AIDS in man. Sera were collected and studied from 3 central African primates--green monkeys chimpanzees and baboons. Human sera positive for HTLV-III were also collected from persons suffering from AIDS and AIDS Related Complex and from healthy homosexuals. Sera were prescreened for antibodies to STLV-III by membrane immunofluorescence. The 160 120 55 viral antigens of STLV- III were immunoprecipitated by both MIF-positive macaque sera and by HTLV-III positive sera from patients with AIDS and AIDS Related Complex. MIF-positive green monkey sera recognized STLV-III proteins but chimpanzee and baboon MIF-negative sera did not. 42% of healthy green monkeys had antibodies to STLV-III. None of the baboons and chimpanzees was seropositive. We suggest that STLV-III of African green monkeys may have been transmitted to man coincident with the recognition of AIDS in central Africa.