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The natural ligands for the CCR5 chemokine receptor, macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (MIP-1alpha), MIP-1beta, and RANTES (regulated on T-cell activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted), are known to inhibit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) entry, and N-terminally modified RANTES analogues are more potent than native RANTES in blocking infection. However, potent CCR5 blocking agents may select for HIV-1 variants that use alternative coreceptors at less than fully inhibitory concentrations. In this study, two N-terminal chemical modifications of RANTES produced by total synthesis, aminooxypentane (AOP)-RANTES[2-68] and N-nonanoyl (NNY)-RANTES[2-68], were tested for their ability to prevent HIV-1 infection and to select for coreceptor switch variants in the human peripheral blood lymphocyte-SCID mouse model. Mice were infected with a CCR5-using HIV-1 isolate that requires only one or two amino acid substitutions to use CXCR4 as a coreceptor. Even though it achieved lower circulating concentrations than AOP-RANTES (75 to 96 pM as opposed to 460 pM under our experimental conditions), NNY-RANTES was more effective in preventing HIV-1 infection. However, in a subset of treated mice, these levels of NNY-RANTES rapidly selected viruses with mutations in the V3 loop of envelope that altered coreceptor usage. These results reinforce the case for using agents that block all significant HIV-1 coreceptors for effective therapy.

Neutralizing antibodies can protect against challenge with HIV-1 in vivo if present at appropriate concentrations at the time of viral challenge, but any role in the control of established infection is unclear. Here, we show that high serum concentrations of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, either singly or as a cocktail, have little sustained effect on viral load in established HIV-1 infection in hu-PBL-SCID mice. In some instances, virus replication of neutralization-sensitive virus continues even in the presence of high levels of neutralizing antibody. In most instances, neutralization escape occurs in a few days, even from a cocktail of three antibodies that recognize distinct epitopes. The results imply that humoral immunity is unlikely to play a significant role in the control of established HIV-1 infection in humans.

Sequence-specific DNA-binding small molecules that can permeate human cells potentially could regulate transcription of specific genes. Multiple cellular DNA-binding transcription factors are required by HIV type 1 for RNA synthesis. Two pyrrole-imidazole polyamides were designed to bind DNA sequences immediately adjacent to binding sites for the transcription factors Ets-1, lymphoid-enhancer binding factor 1, and TATA-box binding protein. These synthetic ligands specifically inhibit DNA-binding of each transcription factor and HIV type 1 transcription in cell-free assays. When used in combination, the polyamides inhibit virus replication by >99% in isolated human peripheral blood lymphocytes, with no detectable cell toxicity. The ability of small molecules to target predetermined DNA sequences located within RNA polymerase II promoters suggests a general approach for regulation of gene expression, as well as a mechanism for the inhibition of viral replication.

Most individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) initially harbor macrophage-tropic, non-syncytium-inducing (M-tropic, NSI) viruses that may evolve into T-cell-tropic, syncytium-inducing viruses (T-tropic, SI) after several years. The reasons for the more efficient transmission of M-tropic, NSI viruses and the slow evolution ofT-tropic, SI viruses remain unclear, although they may be linked to expression of appropriate chemokine coreceptors for virus entry. We have examined plasma viral RNA levels and the extent of CD4+ T-cell depletion in SCID mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood leukocytes following infection with M-tropic, dual-tropic, or T-tropic HIV-1 isolates. The cell tropism was found to determine the course of viremia, with M-tropic viruses producing sustained high viral RNA levels and sparing some CD4+ T cells, dual-tropic viruses producing a transient and lower viral RNA spike and extremely rapid depletion of CD4+ T cells, and T-tropic viruses causing similarly lower viral RNA levels and rapid-intermediate rates of CD4+ T-cell depletion. A single amino acid change in the V3 region of gp120 was sufficient to cause one isolate to switch from M-tropic to dual-tropic and acquire the ability to rapidly deplete all CD4+ T cells.

The body-cavity-based lymphoma cell line BCBL-1, which is infected with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus 8, was injected alone or with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells into SCID mice. Immunoblastic lymphomas developed at or near the site of injection. The lymphomas appeared to derive exclusively from the injected BCBL-1 cells and not from the injected human PBMC. The tumors elicited a marked murine angiogenic response, but known angiogenic cytokines were not detected in BCBL-1 cells. Transfer of BCBL-1 cells to SCID mice may represent an in vivo model for the study of KSHV/HHV8-stimulated angiogenesis.

Individuals homozygous for a 32-bp deletion (delta 32) in the CCR5 gene encoding the coreceptor for macrophage-tropic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are resistant to virus infection, and heterozygous individuals show some slowing of disease progression. The impact of the CCR5 genotype on HIV-1 infection was assessed in vitro and in the human PBL-SCID (hu-PBL-SCID) model. Cells and hu-PBL-SCID mice from CCR5 delta 32/delta 32 donors were resistant to infection with macrophage-tropic HIV-1 and showed slower replication of dual-tropic HIV-1. hu-PBL-SCID mice derived from CCR5 delta 32/+ heterozygotes showed delayed replication of macrophage-tropic HIV-1 despite a small and variable effect of heterozygosity on viral replication in vitro. The level of CCR5 expression appears to limit replication of macrophage-tropic and dual-tropic HIV-1 strains in vivo.

The pathogenicity of four human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates with nef deleted for SCID mice repopulated with human peripheral blood leukocytes (hu-PBL-SCID mice) was studied. Deletion of nef led to a substantial reduction in CD4-positive T-cell depletion and delayed kinetics of plasma viremia in infected hu-PBL-SCID mice. Deletion of the nef gene impacts both the efficiency of primary infection and the cytopathicity of virus for infected CD4-positive T cells in this animal model of HIV-1 infection.

We have used envelope recombinant viruses generated between two molecular clones of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), T-cell-tropic HIV-1SF2 and macrophage-tropic HIV-1SF162, to assess pathogenic potential in the human peripheral blood leukocyte-reconstituted severe combined immune deficiency mouse model. Recombinant HIV-1SF2 viruses expressing the envelope gp120 gene of HIV-ISF162 caused as rapid a CD4+ T-cell depletion as did HIV-1SF162. The reciprocal HIV-1SF162 recombinant virus with the HIV-1SF2 envelope caused slower CD4+ T-cell loss. Although changing the V3 loop sequence of HIV-1SF162 to that of HIV-1SF2 did not change the rate of CD4+ T-cell depletion, replacing the V3 of HIV-1SF2 with the sequence of HIV-1SF162 resulted in virus that was poorly infectious in vivo but not in vitro. These studies suggest that the envelope gene determines properties important for pathogenesis in vivo as well as for cell tropism in vitro. HIV-1 infection in vivo may have more stringent requirements for envelope conformation.

Objective: Mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) transplanted with human peripheral blood lymphocytes (hu-PBL) have been shown to be useful as an animal model for HIV-1 infection. This model was used to assess the ability of a human anti-gp120 antibody to protect against HIV-1 infection., Design and Methods: hu-PBL-SCID mice were injected with an HIV-1 broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibody against the gp120 CD4-binding site prior to challenge with HIV-1SF2. The antibody b12, employed for these studies, was isolated from an antibody phage-display library prepared from bone-marrow of a long-term asymptomatic HIV-1-seropositive donor. Both Fab fragments and whole immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 b12 antibody were assessed for protection., Results: Fab b12, tested at a dose approximately 1.9 mg/kg, was able to protect 25% of hu-PBL-SCID mice from HIV-1 infection. IgG1 b12, which displayed favorable pharmacokinetic properties, showed a dose-dependent protection that was complete with a regimen of two injections of 100 micrograms per mouse. The in vivo protective dose of antibody at the time of virus challenge was estimated to be 4.5-7 mg/kg from antibody clearance data., Conclusions: This study demonstrates for the first time that complete protection against HIV-1 infection can be achieved in the hu-PBL-SCID model by passive immunization with physiologically relevant doses of a human gp120 CD4-binding site antibody derived from natural infection.

The ability to infect human peripheral blood leukocyte-reconstituted severe combined immunodeficient (hu-PBL-SCID) mice with HIV has allowed evaluation of several strategies for preventing or treating infection. In one study, hu-PBL-SCID mice derived from HIV gp160-vaccinated donors were shown to resist HIV infection, and resistance correlated best with in vitro assays of cellular immunity. We have assessed directly the importance of cellular immunity to HIV in the present experiments by the adoptive transfer of HLA-A3-restricted HIV-1 Nef-specific or HLA-B14-restricted Gag-specific CD8+ CTL clones to SCID mice bearing HLA-matched or mismatched PBL grafts. Multiple inoculations of CTL before and after HIV-1 exposure protected HLA-matched hu-PBL-SCID mice from infection, but initiation of CTL therapy on the same day as HIV infection was much less effective. However, at the high numbers of CTL required for complete protection from HIV infection, many HLA-mismatched hu-PBL-SCID mice were also protected by pre-exposure CTL transfer. Transfer of CTL with a different specificity (HTLV-1 Tax) to HLA-matched hu-PBL-SCID mice also afforded partial protection. These results suggest that HLA-restricted cytotoxicity may be less important than other nonspecific effector mechanisms for the inhibition of HIV-1 infection in vivo.

In these studies, neonatal C.B-17 severe combined immunodeficient (nSCID) mice were reconstituted with human cord blood leukocytes (hu-CBLs). The resulting hu-CBL-nSCID mice contained readily detectable human CD3+ T lymphocytes and CD20+ human B cells, and produced substantial levels of human IgM and IgG (including all subclasses). Human cells persisted in lymphoid organs and peripheral blood for at least 8 weeks, and CD4+ T cells outnumbered CD8+ T cells. Engraftment of human cells in peripheral lymphoid organs and blood was much greater than that seen in adult SCID mice grafted with adult peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). Hu-CBL-nSCID mice were susceptible to infection with laboratory-adapted and fresh clinical human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. Following infection with HIV-1, virus could be recovered by the coculture of spleen, lymph node, peritoneal cavity, liver, and plasma samples from hu-CBL-nSCID mice with fresh human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and proviral copies were detectable following amplification using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HIV p24 core antigen levels in hu-CBL-nSCID mouse plasma were consistent with ongoing viral replication and high viral burdens. Rapid CD4+ T cell depletion occurred following infection with laboratory isolates of HIV-1 or a syncytium-inducing clinical isolate, but a non-syncytium-inducing clinical isolate caused expansion of CD8+ T cells, leading to an inversion of the CD4:CD8 ratio with only a transient decrease in CD4+ T cells. These results suggest that the hu-CBL-nSCID mouse system has unique features that mimic certain aspects of pediatric HIV infection, and distinguish it from other animal models of HIV infection, including the related hu-PBL-SCID model.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) isolates differ in cell tropism, replication, pathogenicity, and syncytial induction in vitro. CD4+ T cells were enumerated in severe combined immunodeficient mice transplanted with human peripheral blood leukocytes (hu-PBL-SCID mice) and infected with HIV isolates with different in vitro cytopathicity. Two noncytopathic, macrophage-tropic strains, HIV-1SF162 and HIV-2UC1, induced extensive CD4+ T cell depletion, whereas HIV-1SF33, which is highly cytopathic for T cells in vitro, caused little CD4+ T cell depletion at equivalent virus burden. In vitro cytopathicity assays therefore do not predict CD4 depletion in the hu-PBL-SCID model.

SCID mice reconstituted with adult human peripheral blood leukocytes (hu-PBL-SCID mice) make antigen-specific human antibody responses following secondary immunization and can be infected with human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), suggesting that they might prove useful for evaluating protective immunity to HIV-1 following vaccination of PBL donors. HIV-seronegative volunteers were immunized with vaccinia expressing HIV-1LAV-1/Bru 160-kDa envelope glycoprotein (vaccinia gp160) and subsequently given booster injections of recombinant gp160 protein (rgp160). Their PBLs were used at intervals of 4-72 weeks after booster injections to construct hu-PBL-SCID mice, which were then challenged with 10(2)-10(3) minimal animal infectious doses of highly homologous HIV-1IIIB. Control hu-PBL-SCID mice were constructed from donors receiving vaccinia, alum, or hepatitis B vaccine. Protection against virus infection was defined as the absence of HIV-1 by culture and no detection of proviral genomes following PCR amplification. Control animals were highly susceptible to HIV infection. By contrast, hu-PBL-SCID mice reconstituted with cells from three of four donors immunized with vaccinia gp160 and recently injected with rgp160 showed no evidence of HIV-1 infection by culture or PCR assays. With increasing time after rgp160 injection, the ability of vaccine-derived hu-PBL-SCID mice to resist HIV-1 infection diminished. These results demonstrate that a potentially protective human immune response was stimulated by this HIV gp160 immunization protocol and show the utility of the hu-PBL-SCID model in the rapid evaluation of candidate vaccines.

The autosomal recessive scid mutation results in defective immunoglobulin and T cell receptor gene rearrangement. The scid mutation occurred in the allotype congenic C.B-17 line, and up to 25% of C.B-17 scid mice spontaneously produce both T cells and immunoglobulin, a phenotype known as "leaky." Moreover, introduction of neonatal T cells into C.B-17 scid mice leads to immunoglobulin production by 100% of animals. We have produced mice homozygous for both the scid and beige mutations. By contrast with C.B-17 scid mice, BALB/c scid.beige mice have a < 2% incidence of "leakiness." This percentage does not increase with age, and introduction of neonatal T cells fails to rescue immunoglobulin production. This suggests that a gene (or genes) closely linked to the beige locus regulates B and/or T cell development.

Severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood leukocytes (hu-PBL-SCID mice) have inducible human immune function and may be useful as a small animal model for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) research. Hu-PBL-SCID mice infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) contained virus that was recoverable by culture from the peritoneal cavity, spleen, peripheral blood, and lymph nodes for up to 16 weeks after infection; viral sequences were also detected by in situ hybridization and by amplification with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Mice could be infected with multiple strains of HIV-1, including LAV-1/Bru, IIIB, MN, SF2, and SF13. HIV-1 infection affected the concentration of human immunoglobulin and the number of CD4+ T cells in the mice. These results support the use of the hu-PBL-SCID mouse for studies of the pathogenesis and treatment of AIDS.

The pressing need for a better experimental system for AIDS research has brought into sharp focus the shortcomings of available animal models and the practical and ethical limitations of studies of immune responses and viral pathogenesis in humans. Current studies of the human immune responses are limited to relatively restrictive in vivo experiments and several in vitro systems that, although useful, allow only short-term studies and support responses to a few antigens. Neither model is particularly amenable to studies of the pathogenesis of diseases of the immune system. We report here that injection of human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) can result in the stable long-term reconstitution of a functional human immune system in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Human PBL transplanted to SCID mice increase in number and survive for at least six months; reconstituted mice show spontaneous secretion of human immunoglobulin and a specific human antibody response is induced following immunization with tetanus toxoid. All of the major cell populations present in PBL are found in the lymphoid tissue and blood of SCID recipients, although the relative proportions of B cells, T-cell subsets and monocytes/macrophages in long-term recipients differ from those found in normal PBL and, in mice transplanted with 50 x 10(6) or more PBL from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-seropositive donors, EBV-positive B-cell lymphomas often develop. Our results suggest that xenogeneic transplantation of human lymphoid cells into SCID mice may provide a useful model for the study of normal human immune function, the response of the immune system to pathogenic agents and early events in lymphomagensis.

Mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (C.B-17 scid, hereafter SCID) accept xenografts of adult human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). The transplanted human PBL expand in number and survive for at least thirteen months and have been shown to reconstitute human immune function at both the T and B cell levels. Human immunoglobulin production is restored, and secondary antibody responses to antigens such as tetanus toxoid can be induced. All SCID mice reconstituted with 50 x 10(6) or more PBL from donors with evidence of exposure to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have developed human B cell lymphomas at 8-16 weeks after PBL engraftment, whereas mice reconstituted with PBL from EBV-seronegative donors fail to develop tumors. These tumors involve both lymphatic and non-lymphatic organs, and histologically they resemble large cell or immunoblastic lymphomas. The tumors are associated with high levels of human immunoglobulin secretion and serum electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal immunoglobulin banding patterns. Analysis of tumor DNA shows the presence of EBV genomes and oligoclonal patterns of immunoglobulin JH gene rearrangement. Taken together, these observations suggest an EBV-related proliferation of B lymphocytes leading to the rapid appearance of oligoclonal B cell malignancies following transfer of B lymphocytes from "normal" donors to SCID mice. SCID mice reconstituted with PBL from EBV-seronegative donors have been infected with the LAV-1 strain of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). Virus has been recovered from most infected animals by co-culture of mouse tissue with human T lymphoblasts. Some mice with high virus titers have developed an acute wasting syndrome and depletion of human T cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)