An epitope in the V1 domain of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) gp120 protein is recognized by CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes from an SIV-infected rhesus macaque.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses against the external envelope glycoprotein (gp120) of the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) were studied in a rhesus macaque infected with SIVmac/239. CD8+ T cells enriched from concanavalin A-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells lysed autologous target cells infected with recombinant vaccinia virus vectors expressing the SIVmac/239 or SIVsm/H4 envelope protein, which share approximately 80% identity in amino acid sequence. A CD8+ CTL line derived by limiting dilution culture of the concanavalin A-stimulated lymphocytes was also specific for the envelope proteins of both SIV isolates. Mapping studies revealed that this cell line recognized an epitope between amino acids 113 and 121 (CNKSETDRW) in the V1 domain of gp120. Amino acid substitutions are observed at positions 116 and 120 among viruses of the SIVsm/mac/human immunodeficiency virus type 2 group, and thus synthetic peptides representing these variants were tested for the ability to sensitize target cells for lysis by the CTL line. Autologous target cells sensitized with a synthetic peptide representing the SIVmac/239 sequence were efficiently killed. In contrast, recognition of target cells was reduced or abolished when peptides representing the amino acid substitutions at position 116 or 120 of other SIVmac, SIVsm, SIVmne, or SIVstm strains were tested. Further studies of CTL responses against this epitope could provide insights into mechanisms of variability within the gp120 V1 domain and its importance in evasion of immunity in infected or vaccinated monkeys.     

Characterization of infectious molecular clones of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac) and human immunodeficiency virus type 2: persistent infection of rhesus monkeys with molecularly cloned SIVmac.

Infection of macaque monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is probably the best animal model currently available for studying acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In this report, we describe three infectious molecular clones of SIVmac and one of human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) and their use in the study of cell and species specificity, animal infection, and the relationship of gene sequence to function. Replication of the cloned viruses in different cell lines varied dramatically. Some human CD4+ cell lines (HUT 78 and MT-4) supported the replication of SIVmac and HIV-2, while others (CEM and Jurkat-T) supported the replication of HIV-2 but not SIVmac. Growth of cloned virus in macaque lymphocytes in vitro was predictive of macaque infection in vivo. Macaque lymphocytes supported the replication of SIVmac239 and SIVmac251 but not SIVmac142 or HIV-2ROD. Using virus recovery and antibody response as criteria for infection, macaques that received cloned SIVmac251 and SIVmac239 became infected, while macaques receiving cloned SIVmac142 and HIV-2ROD did not become infected. Nucleotide sequences from the envelope region of all four cloned viruses demonstrated that there is considerable flexibility in the location of the translational termination (stop) signal. These infectious molecular clones will be very useful for future studies directed at the molecular basis for persistence, pathogenicity, tropism, and cell and species specificity.     

Capture and transfer of simian immunodeficiency virus by macaque dendritic cells is enhanced by DC-SIGN

Dendritic cells (DCs) are among the first cells encountered by human and simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV and SIV) following mucosal infection. Because these cells efficiently capture and transmit virus to T cells, they may play a major role in mediating HIV and SIV infection. Recently, a C-type lectin protein present on DCs, DC-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), was shown to efficiently bind and present HIV and SIV to CD4(+), coreceptor-positive cells in trans. However, the significance of DC-SIGN for virus transmission and pathogenesis in vivo remains unclear. Because SIV infection of macaques may represent the best model to study the importance of DC-SIGN in HIV infection, we cloned and characterized pig-tailed macaque DC-SIGN and generated monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against it. We demonstrate that, like human DC-SIGN, pig-tailed macaque DC-SIGN (ptDC-SIGN) is expressed on DCs and macrophages but not on monocytes, T cells, or B cells. Moderate levels of ptDC-SIGN expression were detected on the surface of DCs, and low-level expression was found on macrophages. Additionally, we show that ptDC-SIGN efficiently binds and transmits replication-competent SIVmne variants to CD4(+), coreceptor-positive cells. Moreover, transmission of virus between pig-tailed macaque DCs and CD4(+) T cells is largely ptDC-SIGN dependent. Interestingly, MAbs directed against ptDC-SIGN vary in the capacity to block transmission of different SIVmne variants. These data demonstrate that ptDC-SIGN plays a central role in transmitting virus from macaque DCs to T cells, and they suggest that SIVmne variants may differ in their interactions with ptDC-SIGN. Thus, SIVmne infection of pig-tailed macaques may provide an opportunity to investigate the significance of DC-SIGN in primate lentiviral infections.     

Antibody-dependent enhancement of SIV infection: further characterization and cross reactivity between macaque and sooty mangabey isolates

Plasma from four rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), of which two were experimentally infected with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) isolate SIVmac251, one with isolate SIVsmF236, and another with a SIVsmF236 molecular clone, SIVsmH-4, enhanced SIVmac infection of MT-2 cells. In addition to SIV-positive plasma, infection-enhancement required complement, CD4, and CR2. Titers of infection-enhancing antibodies appeared to correlate with disease progression. The MT-2/SIVmac251 system should be useful in future studies of complement-mediated, antibody-dependent enhancement of macaque and sooty mangabey SIV isolates.     

Detection of simian immunodeficiency virus DNA in macrophages from infected rhesus macaques.

We have examined the frequency of infection of monocyte-derived and alveolar macrophages isolated from rhesus macaques inoculated with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac) utilizing a semiquantitative PCR methodology. Animals were inoculated with either pathogenic (SIVmac239) or nonpathogenic (SIVmac1A11) molecularly cloned viruses of SIVmac, or with uncloned pathogenic SIVmacBIOL. The frequency of SIV DNA in macrophages was highest early after infection and at terminal stages of disease, whereas during the asymptomatic period, SIV DNA was present at very low levels in macrophages.     

A highly divergent simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVstm) recovered from stored stump-tailed macaque tissues.

We report here the results of molecular analysis of a simian immunodeficiency virus (designated SIVstm) which was isolated from a rhesus monkey inoculated with stored lymph node tissue of an Asian stump-tailed macaque. The latter monkey had died in 1977 during an epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency and lymphoma at the California Regional Primate Research Center (L. J. Lowenstine, N. W. Lerche, P. A. Marx, M. B. Gardner, and N. C. Pedersen, p. 174-176, in M. Girard and L. Valette, ed., Retroviruses of Human AIDS and Related Animal Viruses, 1988). Nucleotide sequence analysis of the gag and env regions indicates that SIVstm is an ancient member of the SIV/human immunodeficiency virus type 2 group; it is quite divergent from known SIVs isolated from African sooty mangabeys as well as from Asian macaques. Furthermore, of all SIV strains described to date, SIVstm is the most closely related to human immunodeficiency virus type 2.     

Molecular epidemiology of simian immunodeficiency virus SIVsm in U.S. primate centers unravels the origin of SIVmac and SIVstm

Retrospective molecular epidemiology was performed on samples from four sooty mangabey (SM) colonies in the United States to characterize simian immunodeficiency virus SIVsm diversity in SMs and to trace virus circulation among different primate centers (PCs) over the past 30 years. The following SIVsm sequences were collected from different monkeys: 55 SIVsm isolates from the Tulane PC sampled between 1984 and 2004, 10 SIVsm isolates from the Yerkes PC sampled in 2002, 7 SIVsm isolates from the New Iberia PC sampled between 1979 and 1986, and 8 SIVsm isolates from the California PC sampled between 1975 and 1977. PCR and sequencing were done to characterize the gag, pol, and env gp36 genes. Phylogenetic analyses were correlated with the epidemiological data. Our analysis identified nine different divergent phylogenetic lineages that cocirculated in these four SM colonies in the Unites States in the past 30 years. Lineages 1 to 5 have been identified previously. Two of the newly identified SIVsm lineages found in SMs are ancestral to SIVmac251/SIVmac239/SIVmne and SIVstm. We further identified the origin of these two macaque viruses in SMs from the California National Primate Research Center. The diversity of SIVsm isolates in PCs in the United States mirrors that of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) group M subtypes and offers a model for the molecular epidemiology of HIV and a new approach to vaccine testing. The cocirculation of divergent SIVsm strains in PCs resulted in founder effects, superinfections, and recombinations. This large array of SIVsm strains showing the same magnitude of diversity as HIV-1 group M subtypes should be extremely useful for modeling the efficacy of vaccination strategies under the real-world conditions of HIV-1 diversity. The genetic variability of SIVsm strains among PCs may influence the diagnosis and monitoring of SIVsm infection and, consequently, may bias the results of pathogenesis studies.     

Identification of viral determinants of macrophage tropism for simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac.

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a lymphocytopathic lentivirus, induces an AIDS-like disease in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). A pathogenic molecular clone of rhesus macaque SIV (SIVmac), SIVmac-239, replicates and induces cytopathology in T lymphocytes but is restricted for replication in macrophages. In contrast, a nonpathogenic molecular clone of SIVmac, SIVmac-1A11, replicates and induces syncytia (multinucleated giant cells) in cultures of both T lymphocytes and macrophages. SIVmac-1A11 does not cause disease in macaques. To map the viral determinants of macrophage tropism, reciprocal recombinant genomes were constructed between molecular clones of SIVmac-239 and SIVmac-1A11. Infectious recombinant viruses were rescued by transfection of cloned viral genomes into permissive lymphoid cells. Analysis of one pair of reciprocal recombinants revealed that an internal 6.2-kb DNA fragment of SIVmac-1A11 was necessary and sufficient for both syncytium formation and efficient replication in macrophages. This region includes the coding sequences for a portion of the gag gene, all of the pol, vif, vpr, and vpx genes, the first coding exons of tat and rev, and the external env glycoprotein gp130. Thus, the transmembrane glycoprotein of env, the nef gene, the second coding exons of tat and rev, and the long terminal repeats are not essential for in vitro macrophage tropism. Analysis of additional recombinants revealed that syncytium formation, but not virus production, was controlled by a 1.4-kb viral DNA fragment in SIVmac-1A11 encoding only the external env glycoprotein gp130. Thus, gp130 env of SIVmac-1A11 is necessary for entry of virus into macrophages but is not sufficient for a complete viral replication cycle in this cell type. We therefore conclude that gp130 env and one or more genetic elements (exclusive of the long terminal repeats, transmembrane glycoprotein of env, and second coding exons of tat and rev, and nef) are essential for a complete replication cycle of SIVmac in rhesus macaque macrophages.     

Infection with a molecularly cloned SIVsm virus elicits high titer homologous neutralizing antibodies with heterologous neutralizing activity

We have evaluated the homologous and heterologous neutralizing antibody response in a cohort of six Macaca nemestrina infected with the cloned virus SIVsm62d that showed different levels of envelope diversification. Two progressor macaques developed AIDS by 1.5 years post-inoculation and four non-progressors were asymptomatic for 3 years of follow-up. All macaques developed high titers of neutralizing antibodies against homologous SIVsm viruses and intermediate titers against SIVsmB670. Heterologous virus neutralization of SIVmac, SIVmne, and HIV-2 was detected at much lower levels in both progressor macaques; only one of four non-progressors had evidence for broader neutralizing antibody activity. We noted changes in potential N-linked glycosylation (PNG) sites in V1/V2, C2, and V4 that were common to multiple macaques. These results support a model for viral neutralization where heterologous neutralization is, in part, driven by a strong homologous response and may be coupled to changes in PNG sites in envelope.     

The history of simian AIDS

Abstract: Gardner MB. The history of simian AIDS. J Med Primatol 1996; 25:148–157. Munksgaard, Copenhagen Retrospective data indicate that two separate outbreaks of simian AIDS and associated lymphoma were caused by Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIVmac and SIVstm, respectively) in group-housed macaques at the California Regional Primate Research Center (CRPRC) in the early and mid-1970s. Because these epizootics were not then recognized as infectious in nature, surviving healthy SIV carriers were sent to other primate centers where they transmitted the viruses to resident macaques. The source of SIV at the CRPRC was by contact with co-housed seropositive sooty mangabeys. Spread of SIV via saliva and blood while fighting most likely accounted for these epizootics. Separate outbreaks of a somewhat different version of simian AIDS, caused by the simian Type D retrovirus (SRV-1), and spread from healthy carriers via saliva and blood also occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s in group-housed macaques at the CRPRC. Initially, these SRV-1 outbreaks were also not recognized as infectious.     

Simian immunodeficiency virus mutants resistant to serum neutralization arise during persistent infection of rhesus monkeys.

We previously described the pattern of sequence variation in gp120 following persistent infection of rhesus monkeys with the pathogenic simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac239 molecular clone (D.P.W. Burns and R.C. Desrosiers, J. Virol. 65:1843, 1991). Sequence changes were confined largely to five variable regions (V1 to V5), four of which correspond to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp120 variable regions. Remarkably, 182 of 186 nucleotide substitutions that were documented in these variable regions resulted in amino acid changes. This is an extremely nonrandom pattern, which suggests selective pressure driving amino acid changes in discrete variable domains. In the present study, we investigated whether neutralizing-antibody responses are one selective force responsible at least in part for the observed pattern of sequence variation. Variant env sequences called 1-12 and 8-22 obtained 69 and 93 weeks after infection of a rhesus monkey with cloned SIVmac239 were recombined into the parental SIVmac239 genome, and variant viruses were generated by transfection of cultured cells with cloned DNA. The 1-12 and 8-22 recombinants differ from the parental SIVmac239 at 18 amino acid positions in gp120 and at 5 and 10 amino acid positions, respectively, in gp41. Sequential sera from the monkey infected with cloned SIVmac239 from which the 1-12 and 8-22 variants were isolated showed much higher neutralizing antibody titers to cloned SIVmac239 than to the cloned 1-12 and 8-22 variants. For example, at 55 weeks postinfection the neutralizing antibody titer against SIVmac239 was 640 while those to the variant viruses were 40 and less than 20. Two other rhesus monkeys infected with cloned SIVmac239 showed a similar pattern. Rhesus monkeys were also experimentally infected with the cloned variants so that the type-specific nature of the neutralizing antibody responses could be verified. Indeed, each of these monkeys showed neutralizing-antibody responses of much higher titer to the homologous variant used for infection. These experiments unambiguously demonstrate that SIV mutants resistant to serum neutralization arise during the course of persistent infection of rhesus monkeys.     

Strain-specific neutralizing determinant in the transmembrane protein of simian immunodeficiency virus.

Monoclonal antibody SF8/5E11, which recognizes the transmembrane protein (TMP) of simian immunodeficiency virus of macaque monkeys (SIVmac), displayed strict strain specificity. It reacted with cloned and uncloned SIVmac251 but not with cloned SIVmac142 and SIVmac239 on immunoblots. This monoclonal antibody neutralized infection by cloned, cell-free SIVmac251 and inhibited formation of syncytia by cloned SIVmac251-infected cells; these activities were specific to cloned SIVmac251 and did not occur with the other viruses. Site-specific mutagenesis was used to show that TMP amino acids 106 to 110 (Asp-Trp-Asn-Asn-Asp) determined the strain specificity of the monoclonal antibody. This strain-specific neutralizing determinant is located within a variable region of SIVmac and human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) which includes conserved, clustered sites for N-linked glycosylation. The determinant corresponds exactly to a variable, weak neutralizing epitope in HIV-1 TMP which also includes conserved, clustered sites for N-linked glycosylation. Thus, the location of at least one neutralizing epitope appears to be common to both SIVmac and HIV-1. Our results suggest a role for this determinant in the viral entry process. Genetic variation was observed in this neutralizing determinant following infection of a rhesus monkey with molecularly cloned SIVmac239; variant forms of the strain-specific, neutralizing determinant accumulated during persistent infection in vivo. Selective pressure from the host immune response in vivo may result in sequence variation in this neutralizing determinant.     

Experimental infection of rhesus and pig-tailed macaques with macaque rhadinoviruses

The recognition of naturally occurring rhadinoviruses in macaque monkeys has spurred interest in their use as models for human infection with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus 8). Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were inoculated intravenously with rhadinovirus isolates derived from these species (rhesus rhadinovirus [RRV] and pig-tailed rhadinovirus [PRV]). Nine rhadinovirus antibody-negative and two rhadinovirus antibody-positive monkeys were used for these experimental inoculations. Antibody-negative animals clearly became infected following virus inoculation since they developed persisting antibody responses to virus and virus was isolated from peripheral blood on repeated occasions following inoculation. Viral sequences were also detected by PCR in lymph node, oral mucosa, skin, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells following inoculation. Experimentally infected animals developed peripheral lymphadenopathy which resolved by 12 weeks following inoculation, and these animals have subsequently remained free of disease. No increased pathogenicity was apparent from cross-species infection, i.e., inoculation of rhesus macaques with PRV or of pig-tailed macaques with RRV, whether the animals were antibody positive or negative at the time of virus inoculation. Coinoculation of additional rhesus monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) isolate SIVmac251 and macaque-derived rhadinovirus resulted in an attenuated antibody response to both agents and shorter mean survival compared to SIVmac251-inoculated controls (155.5 days versus 560.1 days; P < 0.019). Coinfected and immunodeficient macaques died of a variety of opportunistic infections characteristic of simian AIDS. PCR analysis of sorted peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicated a preferential tropism of RRV for CD20(+) B lymphocytes. Our results demonstrate persistent infection of macaque monkeys with RRV and PRV following experimental inoculation, but no specific disease was readily apparent from these infections even in the context of concurrent SIV infection.     

Viral determinants of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) virulence in rhesus macaques assessed by using attenuated and pathogenic molecular clones of SIVmac.

To identify viral determinants of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) virulence, two pairs of reciprocal recombinants constructed from a pathogenic (SIVmac239) and a nonpathogenic (SIVmac1A11) molecular clone of SIV were tested in rhesus macaques. A large 6.2-kb fragment containing gag, pol, env, and the regulatory genes from each of the cloned (parental) viruses was exchanged to produce one pair of recombinant viruses (designated SIVmac1A11/239gag-env/1A11 and SIVmac239/1A11gag-env/239 to indicate the genetic origins of the 5'/internal/3' regions, respectively, of the virus). A smaller 1.4-kb fragment containing the external env domain of each of the parental viruses was exchanged to create the second pair (SIVmac1A11/239env/1A11 and SIVmac239/1A11env/239) of recombinant viruses. Each of the two parental and four recombinant viruses was inoculated intravenously into four rhesus macaques, and all 24 animals were viremic by 4 weeks postinoculation (p.i.). Virus could not be isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of any animals infected with SIVmac1A11 after 6 weeks p.i. but was consistently isolated from all macaques inoculated with SIVmac239 for 92 weeks p.i. Virus isolation was variable from animals infected with recombinant viruses; SIVmac1A11/239gag-env/1A11 and SIVmac239/1A11env/239 were isolated most frequently. Animals inoculated with SIVmac239 had 10 to 100 times more virus-infected PBMC than those infected with recombinant viruses. Three animals infected with SIVmac239 died with simian AIDS (SAIDS) during the 2-year observation period after inoculation, and the fourth SIVmac239-infected animal had clinical signs of SAIDS. Two animals infected with recombinant viruses died with SAIDS; one was infected with SIVmac239/1A11gag-env/239, and the other was infected with SIVmac1A11/239gag-env/1A11. The remaining 18 macaques remained healthy by 2 years p.i., and 13 were aviremic. One year after inoculation, peripheral lymph nodes of some of these healthy, aviremic animals harbored infected cells. All animals seroconverted within the first few weeks of infection, and the magnitude of antibody response to SIV was proportional to the levels and duration of viremia. Virus-suppressive PBMC were detected within 2 to 4 weeks p.i. in all animals but tended to decline as viremia disappeared. There was no association of levels of cell-mediated virus-suppressive activity and either virus load or disease progression. Taken together, these results indicate that differences in more than one region of the viral genome are responsible for the lack of virulence of SIVmac1A11.     

Simian immunodeficiency virus utilizes human and sooty mangabey but not rhesus macaque STRL33 for efficient entry

It has been established that many simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) isolates utilize the orphan receptors GPR15 and STRL33 about as efficiently as the chemokine receptor CCR5 for entry into target cells. Most studies were performed, however, with coreceptors of human origin. We found that SIV from captive rhesus macaques (SIVmac) can utilize both human and simian CCR5 and GPR15 with comparable efficiencies. Strikingly, however, only human STRL33 (huSTRL33), not rhesus macaque STRL33 (rhSTRL33), functioned efficiently as an entry cofactor for a variety of isolates of SIVmac and SIV from sooty mangabeys. A single amino acid substitution of S30R in huSTRL33 impaired coreceptor activity, and the reverse change in rhSTRL33 greatly increased coreceptor activity. In comparison, species-specific sequence variations in N-terminal tyrosines in STRL33 had only moderate effects on SIV entry. These results show that a serine residue located just outside of the cellular membrane in the N terminus of STRL33 is critical for SIV coreceptor function. Interestingly, STRL33 derived from sooty mangabeys, a natural host of SIV, also contained a serine at the corresponding position and was used efficiently as an entry cofactor. These results suggest that STRL33 is not a relevant coreceptor in the SIV/macaque model but may play a role in SIV replication and transmission in naturally infected sooty mangabeys.     

Characterization of an anti-lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 antibody in a simian immunodeficiency virus-pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) model

The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) model of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a powerful system in which to study cell adhesion molecules and retroviral pathogenesis in vivo. Preliminary experiments were conducted to examine the role of lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) in early SIV infection in vivo by using an LFA-1 monoclonal antibody (MHM.23) specific to human LFA-1. In vitro studies revealed that at concentrations of > or = 20 microg/ml, MHM.23 blocked LFA-1-mediated adhesion and T-cell activation (>90%) of pig-tailed macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In addition, SIVmac239 infection of macaque cells was inhibited in a dose-dependant manner by MHM.23. Administration of MHM.23 to pig-tailed macaques inhibited LFA-1-ICAM-1-mediated activity in vivo and maintained binding on macaque cells for < or = 4 d. Our in vitro studies indicated that at an MHM.23 concentration of 20 microg/ml, macaque PBMCs were completely saturated. Our in vivo studies determined that 5 mg/kg MHM.23 intravenously every 24 h was required to maintain saturating levels and inhibit LFA-1-ICAM-1 function in pig-tailed macaques.     

Frequency of the major histocompatibility complex Mamu-A*01 allele in a closed breeding colony of rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) from Brazil

Background  Rhesus monkeys are relevant models for human diseases. The simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection is an useful macaque model for assessing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine strategies. Susceptibility and resistance to viruses have been associated with particular major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Several epitopes in the HIV structural and non-structural protein restricted by distinct MHC class I haplotypes are important targets for human cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which mediate protection against SIVmac infection. Mamu-A*01 , for example, is a MHC class I molecule of rhesus monkeys that presents a peptide from SIV gag protein.
Methods  Our study determined the frequency of Mamu-A*01 in a closed colony of rhesus monkeys from Brazil by polymerase chain reaction.
Results  A high frequency of the allele was found in the study colony.
Conclusion  This colony provides a significant source of A*01 -positive animals to investigators.     

Inoculation of Macaca fascicularis with simian immunodeficiency virus, SIVmne immunologic, serologic, and pathologic changes

Previous studies had tested the susceptibility of two macaque species, Macaca nemestrina and M. mulatta, to infection with the primate lymphotropic lentivirus SIVmne. In this report we describe the results obtained after infecting eleven M. fascicularis with SIVmne. Six of the animals had previously been immunized with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the envelope gene of HIV-1. All eleven animals became seropositive. To date ten animals have died 43 to 155 weeks post infection of an AIDS-like disease.