Bieniasz PD, Ali M, McClure MO; Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS.
J Med Primatol. 1993 Sep-Oct; 22: abstract no. 49.
Department of G.U. Medicine and Communicable Diseases, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, Paddington, London, U.K.
We have undertaken a comparative study of foamy viruses isolated from higher primates: human (HFV), chimpanzee (SFV-6, SFV-7), gorilla (GFV) and orangutan (OFV) using serology, PCR, sequencing, and an assay for transactivation. Serologically, using virus infected BHK cells as antigen and sera from infected primates, HFV, SFV-6, SFV-7 and GFV were immunologically highly cross reactive. Sera from an OFV infected orangutan reacted weakly with the other viruses. PCR primers derived from the HFV genome in regions conserved for SFV-1 and SFV-3 successfully amplified all the higher primate foamy viruses, whereas randomly selected primers only amplified HFV and SFV-6 (and to a lesser extent SFV-7) derived fragments. Sequence analysis of a 300bp region of the LTR revealed a very close relationship between SFV-6 and HFV (> 90% nucleotide identity) with GFV being slightly more divergent and OFV more distant still. Further sequence analysis of all these viruses is currently being performed. To assess whether or not these viruses possess genes encoding transactivators capable of interacting with th HFV LTR, a cell line containing a Lac-Z gene under the control of the HFV LTR. was constructed Infection of this cell line with HFV, SFV-6 and SFV-7 led to the expression of beta-galactosidase (visualized by X-gal staining) whereas infection with GFV or OFV did not. As yet, aside from very small differences in nucleotide sequence, we have found the properties of SFV-6 indistinguishable from that of HFV. Additionally, sera from 25 captive chimpanzee were analysed immunohistochemically for their ability to stain SFV-6 infected BHK cells. All of the sera analysed were positive. These data suggest that SFV-6 infection is widespread in chimpanzees and HFV may be the result of a recent zoonosis between chimpanzees and humans.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Animals
- Base Sequence
- Gorilla gorilla
- Humans
- Pan troglodytes
- Pongo pygmaeus
- Primates
- Spumavirus
- Trans-Activation (Genetics)
- Trans-Activators
- genetics
Other ID:
UI: 102207778
From Meeting Abstracts