Abstract
The cytokine interleukin-21 (IL-21) regulates viral pathogenesis in individuals infected with human and simian immunodeficiency viruses. However, because the time of initial infection with HIV in humans is rarely known, the dynamics of IL-21 production during the first weeks have not been adequately explored. In the present study, we used rhesus macaques to model the first stages of infection. Twenty-two rhesus macaques were infected rectally with simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)-1157ipd3N4, and for 12 weeks, replication of the virus, the numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and the levels of plasma IL-21 were monitored. Our study demonstrated that plasma levels of IL-21 increased during the early phase of SHIV infection when compared with the values observed before inoculation. We conclude that IL-21 has a likely role in the immunopathogenesis of HIV/SIV/SHIV.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Prof. Ruth Ruprecht at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, USA, for her kind provision of SHIV-1157ipd3N4. We are grateful to Drs. Zhigang Yao, Dongmei Wang, Pingsen Zhao, and Hao Gu for their technical support. Funding: This study was supported by grants from the National Science and Technology Major projects of Infectious Disease (2012 2×10004-501, 2012 2×10001-007, and 2012 2×10001-006). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Zhao, Cc., Xue, J., Cong, Z. et al. Circulating IL-21 levels increase during early simian-human immunodeficiency virus infection in macaques. Arch Virol 158, 853–858 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-012-1534-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-012-1534-1