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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Infection of semen-producing organs by SIV during the acute and chronic stages of the disease
PLoS ONE, Volume 3, No. 3, Article e1792, Year 2008
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Description
Background: Although indirect evidence suggests the male genital tract as a possible source of persistent HIV shedding in semen during antiretroviral therapy, this phenomenon is poorly understood due to the difficulty of sampling semen-producing organs in HIV+ asymptomatic individuals. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a range of molecular and cell biological techniques, this study investigates SIV infection within reproductive organs of macaques during the acute and chronic stages of the disease. We demonstrate for the first time the presence of SIV in the testes, epididymides, prostate and seminal vesicles as early as 14 days post-inoculation. This infection persists throughout the chronic stage and positively correlates with blood viremia. The prostate and seminal vesicles appear to be the most efficiently infected reproductive organs, followed by the epididymides and testes. Within the male genital tract, mostly T lymphocytes and a small number of germ cells harbour SIV antigens and RNA. In contrast to the other organs studied, the testis does not display an immune response to the infection. Testosteronemia is transiently increased during the early phase of the infection but spermatogenesis remains unaffected. Conclusions/Significance: The present study reveals that SIV infection of the macaque male genital tract is an early event and that semen-producing organs display differential infection levels and immune responses. These results help elucidate the origin of HIV in semen and constitute an essential base to improving the design of antiretroviral therapies to eradicate virus from semen. Copyright: © 2008 Le Tortorec et al.
Authors & Co-Authors
Le-Grand, Roger
France, Gif-sur-yvette
Institut Des Maladies Emergentes et Des Thérapies Innovantes
Roques, Pierre A.
France, Gif-sur-yvette
Institut Des Maladies Emergentes et Des Thérapies Innovantes
Maillard, Anne
France, Rennes
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes
Jégou, Bernard
France, Paris
Inserm
Dejucq-Rainsford, Nathalie
France, Paris
Inserm
Statistics
Citations: 52
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pone.0001792
ISSN:
19326203
Research Areas
Infectious Diseases
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Participants Gender
Male