New World Simian Foamy Virus Infections In Vivo and In Vitro |
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| Authors: | Carolyn R Stenbak Karen L Craig Sergei B Ivanov Xiaoxing Wang Khanh C Soliven Dana L Jackson Gustavo A Gutierrez Gregory Engel Lisa Jones-Engel Maxine L Linial |
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| Institution: | aSeattle University, Department of Biology, Seattle, Washington, USA;bFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Basic Sciences Division, Seattle, Washington, USA;cEscuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro Montes de Oca, Costa Rica;dSwedish/Cherry Hill Family Medicine Residency Faculty, Seattle, Washington, USA;eWashington National Primate Center, Seattle, Washington, USA |
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| Abstract: | Foamy viruses (FV) are complex retroviruses that naturally infect all nonhuman primates (NHP) studied to date. Zoonotic transmission of Old World NHP simian foamy viruses (SFV) has been documented, leading to nonpathogenic persistent infections. To date, there have been no reports concerning zoonotic transmission of New World monkey (NWM) SFV to humans and resulting infection. In this study, we developed a Western blot assay to detect antibodies to NWM SFV, a nested PCR assay to detect NWM SFV DNA, and a β-galactosidase-containing indicator cell line to assay replication of NWM SFV. Using these tools, we analyzed the plasma and blood of 116 primatologists, of whom 69 had reported exposures to NWM. While 8 of the primatologists tested were seropositive for SFV from a NWM, the spider monkey, none had detectable levels of viral DNA in their blood. We found that SFV isolated from three different species of NWM replicated in some, but not all, human cell lines. From our data, we conclude that while humans exposed to NWM SFV produce antibodies, there is no evidence for long-term viral persistence. |
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