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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 09/2010; 107(36):15666-7. · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The northeast of Gabon, central Africa is characterized by high population density and a high rate of immigration from the surrounding countries. To determine the prevalence, circulating subtypes, and antiretroviral resistance mutations of HIV-1, 810 blood samples were collected from the general population of the two main cities (Oyem and Makokou) of this region. Of these, 61 (7.5%) were found to be positive for HIV-1. Analysis of the env (gp120), pol, and gag (p24) sequences as well as phylogenetic analyses showed at least eight different viral lineages. The most prevalent strains were CRF02 recombinants, followed by subtypes A, D, and C. The remaining strains were found to be F, J, G, and also, for the first time in Gabon, the recombinant form CRF11cpx. Analysis of antiretroviral drug-resistance mutations in protease and reverse transcriptase from this untreated population showed a low level of specific mutations. These mutations were associated with subtype polymorphism rather than with resistance to antiretroviral drugs. The wide diversity and the emergence of recombinant strains are in accordance with the rapid spread of new HIV strains in the population and, thus, the dynamic evolution of the epidemic.
AIDS research and human retroviruses 04/2009; 25(4):411-8. · 2.18 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We compared human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA and DNA populations in the different fractions of breast milk (lactoserum, lipid layer, cell pellet) and between right and left breasts in four HIV-1-infected mothers by analyzing the hypervariable env C2-V5 region. Phylogenetic analyses of the viral quasispecies revealed that RNA populations and DNA populations were clearly distinct and that viral RNA sequences were similar in lipid layer and lactoserum in the milk of 3 out of 4 mothers. Comparison of viral DNA between milk from right and left breast showed a differential distribution of variants in three mothers. In contrast, RNA variants detected from milk of the two breasts were mixed in 3 out of 4 mothers. This study suggests that each mammary gland is subjected to microenvironmental pressure that may differ from the contralateral breast.
Virology 08/2007; 363(2):256-60. · 3.35 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Mustached monkeys (Cercopithecus cephus), which form a significant component of primate bushmeat in west central Africa, are infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmus). We identified and genetically characterized five new SIVmus strains infecting wild living mustached monkeys from Cameroon. Phylogenetic analysis of partial pol sequences revealed that SIVmus strains form two distinct groups within the clade comprised of lentiviruses isolated from Cercopithecus nictitans (SIVgsn), Cercopithecus mona (SIVmon) and C. cephus (SIVmus). Characterisation of three full-length SIVmus genomes confirmed the presence of two distinct lineages infecting mustached monkeys. These two variants of SIVmus, here designated SIVmus-1 and SIVmus-2, were isolated from animals sharing habitats within the same geographic region. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the diversification of SIVmus, SIVgsn and SIVmon involved inter-lineage recombination, and suggested that one of the SIVmus lineages likely resulted from cross-species transmission and recombination involving SIVmus and an as yet uncharacterized SIV. These results indicate that cross-species transmission and recombination play a major role in the evolution of primate lentiviruses among sympatric primate species.
Virology 05/2007; 360(2):407-18. · 3.35 Impact Factor
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Jonathan L Heeney,
Erik Rutjens,
Ernst J Verschoor,
Henk Niphuis,
Peter ten Haaft,
Scott Rouse,
Hazel McClure,
Sunita Balla-Jhagjhoorsingh,
Willy Bogers,
Mary Salas,
Kathy Cobb,
Luc Kestens,
David Davis,
Guido van der Groen, Valerie Courgnaud,
Martine Peeters,
Krishna K Murthy
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ABSTRACT: Current data suggest that the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) epidemic arose by transmission of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) SIVcpz from a subspecies of common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) to humans. SIVcpz of chimpanzees is itself a molecular chimera of SIVs from two or more different monkey species, suggesting that recombination was made possible by coinfection of one individual animal with different lentiviruses. However, very little is known about SIVcpz transmission and the susceptibility to lentivirus coinfection of its natural host, the chimpanzee. Here, it is revealed that either infected plasma or peripheral blood mononuclear cells readily confer infection when exposure occurs by the intravenous or mucosal route. Importantly, the presence of preexisting HIV-1 infection did not modify the kinetics of SIVcpz infection once it was established by different routes. Although humoral responses appeared as early as 4 weeks postinfection, neutralization to SIVcpz-ANT varied markedly between animals. Analysis of the SIVcpz env sequence over time revealed the emergence of genetic viral variants and persistent SIVcpz RNA levels of between 10(4) and 10(5) copies/ml plasma regardless of the presence or absence of concurrent HIV-1 infection. These unique data provide important insight into possible routes of transmission, the kinetics of acute SIVcpz infection, and how readily coinfection with SIVcpz and other lentiviruses may be established as necessary preconditions for potential recombination.
Journal of Virology 08/2006; 80(14):7208-18. · 5.40 Impact Factor
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Michael Schindler,
Jan Münch,
Olaf Kutsch,
Hui Li,
Mario L Santiago,
Frederic Bibollet-Ruche,
Michaela C Müller-Trutwin,
Francis J Novembre,
Martine Peeters, Valerie Courgnaud,
Elizabeth Bailes,
Pierre Roques,
Donald L Sodora,
Guido Silvestri,
Paul M Sharp,
Beatrice H Hahn,
Frank Kirchhoff
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ABSTRACT: High-level immune activation and T cell apoptosis represent a hallmark of HIV-1 infection that is absent from nonpathogenic SIV infections in natural primate hosts. The mechanisms causing these varying levels of immune activation are not understood. Here, we report that nef alleles from the great majority of primate lentiviruses, including HIV-2, downmodulate TCR-CD3 from infected T cells, thereby blocking their responsiveness to activation. In contrast, nef alleles from HIV-1 and a subset of closely related SIVs fail to downregulate TCR-CD3 and to inhibit cell death. Thus, Nef-mediated suppression of T cell activation is a fundamental property of primate lentiviruses that likely evolved to maintain viral persistence in the context of an intact host immune system. This function was lost during viral evolution in a lineage that gave rise to HIV-1 and may have predisposed the simian precursor of HIV-1 for greater pathogenicity in humans.
Cell 07/2006; 125(6):1055-67. · 32.40 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) are found in an extensive number of African primates, and humans continue to be exposed to these viruses by hunting and handling of primate bushmeat and following occupational exposures to captive nonhuman primates. Here, we report the molecular characterization of a new SIV lineage, SIVtal, from wild-caught and captive talapoin monkeys (Miopithecus ogouensis) from Cameroon and U.S. zoos, respectively. Phylogenetic tree analyses of a small fragment in the pol gene indicated that all SIVtal strains clustered together forming a single species-specific lineage. Full-length sequence analysis for two strains, SIVtal-00CM266 and SIVtal-01CM8023, from wild-caught animals in Cameroon confirmed that SIVtal was distinct from all primate lentiviruses isolated so far and represents a new SIV lineage. Phylogenetic analyses in different viral genes showed a significant clustering of the SIVtal lineage with the Cercopithecus-specific SIVs. In addition, SIVtal and Cercopithecus-specific SIVs share functional motifs in Gag and Env that distinguish them from other primate lentiviruses. Like SIVsyk and SIVdeb, a vpu gene homologue was also absent in SIVtal. Although northern talapoins belong to the Miopithecus genus, their SIVs belong to the Cercopithecus SIV lineage, suggesting evolution from a common ancestor or cross-species transmission between both primate genera.
Virology 06/2006; 349(1):55-65. · 3.35 Impact Factor
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Michael Schindler,
Jan Münch,
Olaf Kutsch,
Hui Li,
Mario Santiago,
Frederic Bibollet-Ruche,
Michaela Müller-Trutwin,
Francis Novembre,
Martine Peeters, Valerie Courgnaud,
Elizabeth Bailes,
Pierre Roques,
Donald Sodora,
Paul Sharp,
Guido Silvestri,
Beatrice Hahn,
Frank Kirchhoff
Retrovirology. 01/2006;
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ABSTRACT: Three types of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV)-simian T-cell leukemia virus (STLV) (collectively called primate T-cell leukemia viruses [PTLVs]) have been characterized, with evidence for zoonotic origin from primates for HTLV type 1 (HTLV-1) and HTLV-2 in Africa. To assess human exposure to STLVs in western Central Africa, we screened for STLV infection in primates hunted in the rain forests of Cameroon. Blood was obtained from 524 animals representing 18 different species. All the animals were wild caught between 1999 and 2002; 328 animals were sampled as bush meat and 196 were pets. Overall, 59 (11.2%) of the primates had antibodies cross-reacting with HTLV-1 and/or HTLV-2 antigens; HTLV-1 infection was confirmed in 37 animals, HTLV-2 infection was confirmed in 9, dual HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infection was confirmed in 10, and results for 3 animals were indeterminate. Prevalences of infection were significantly lower in pets than in bush meat, 1.5 versus 17.0%, respectively. Discriminatory PCRs identified STLV-1, STLV-3, and STLV-1 and STLV-3 in HTLV-1-, HTLV-2-, and HTLV-1- and HTLV-2-cross-reactive samples, respectively. We identified for the first time STLV-1 sequences in mustached monkeys (Cercopithecus cephus), talapoins (Miopithecus ogouensis), and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and confirmed STLV-1 infection in mandrills, African green monkeys, agile mangabeys, and crested mona and greater spot-nosed monkeys. STLV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) and env sequences revealed that the strains belonged to different PTLV-1 subtypes. A high prevalence of PTLV infection was observed among agile mangabeys (Cercocebus agilis); 89% of bush meat was infected with STLV. Cocirculation of STLV-1 and STLV-3 and STLV-1-STLV-3 coinfections were identified among the agile mangabeys. Phylogenetic analyses of partial LTR sequences indicated that the agile mangabey STLV-3 strains were more related to the STLV-3 CTO604 strain isolated from a red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus) from Cameroon than to the STLV-3 PH969 strain from an Eritrean baboon or the PPA-F3 strain from a baboon in Senegal. Our study documents for the first time that (i) a substantial proportion of wild-living monkeys in Cameroon is STLV infected, (ii) STLV-1 and STLV-3 cocirculate in the same primate species, (iii) coinfection with STLV-1 and STLV-3 occurs in agile mangabeys, and (iv) humans are exposed to different STLV-1 and STLV-3 subtypes through handling primates as bush meat.
Journal of Virology 06/2004; 78(9):4700-9. · 5.40 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We found human T-cell leukemia virus type 1- and simian T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (STLV-1)-related infections in 5 of 10 chimpanzees originating from three groups of wild chimpanzees. The new virus isolates showed a surprising heterogeneity not only in comparison to STLV-1 described previously in other primate species but also between the different chimpanzee groups, within a group, or even between strains isolated from an individual animal. The interdisciplinary combination of virology, molecular epidemiology, and long-term behavioral studies suggests that the primary route of infection might be interspecies transmission from other primates, such as red colobus monkeys, that are hunted and consumed by chimpanzees.
Journal of Virology 05/2004; 78(8):4352-6. · 5.40 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To clarify the origin and evolution of the primate lentiviruses (PLVs), which include human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 as well as their simian relatives, simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs), isolated from several host species, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships among the six supposedly nonrecombinant PLV lineages for which the full genome sequences are available. Employing bootscanning as an exploratory tool, we located several regions in the PLV genome that seem to have uncertain or conflicting phylogenetic histories. Phylogeny reconstruction based on distance and maximum-likelihood algorithms followed by a number of statistical tests confirms the existence of at least five putative recombinant fragments in the PLV genome with different clustering patterns. Split decomposition analysis also shows that phylogenetic relationships among PLVs may be better represented by network-based graphs, such as the ones produced by SplitsTree. Our findings not only imply that the six so-called pure PLV lineages have in fact mosaic genomes but also make more unlikely the hypothesis of cospeciation of SIVs and their simian hosts.
Journal of Virology 08/2003; 77(13):7202-13. · 5.40 Impact Factor
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Science 07/2003; 300(5626):1713. · 31.20 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In order to study primate lentivirus evolution in the Colobinae subfamily, in which only one simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) has been described to date, we screened additional species from the three different genera of African colobus monkeys for SIV infection. Blood was obtained from 13 West African colobids, and HIV cross-reactive antibodies were observed in 5 of 10 Piliocolobus badius, 1 of 2 Procolobus verus, and 0 of 1 Colobus polykomos specimens. Phylogenetic analyses of partial pol sequences revealed that the new SIVs were more closely related to each other than to the other SIVs and especially did not cluster with the previously described SIVcol from Colobus guereza. This study presents evidence that the three genera of African colobus monkeys are naturally infected with an SIV and indicates also that there was no coevolution between virus and hosts at the level of the Colobinae subfamily.
Journal of Virology 02/2003; 77(1):744-8. · 5.40 Impact Factor
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Martine Peeters, Valerie Courgnaud,
Bernadette Abela,
Philippe Auzel,
Xavier Pourrut,
Frederic Bibollet-Ruche,
Severin Loul,
Florian Liegeois,
Cristelle Butel,
Denis Koulagna,
Eitel Mpoudi-Ngole,
George M Shaw,
Beatrice H Hahn,
Eric Delaporte
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ABSTRACT: To assess human exposure to Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in west central Africa, we looked for SIV infection in 788 monkeys that were hunted in the rainforests of Cameroon for bushmeat or kept as pets. Serologic reactivity suggesting SIV infection was found in 13 of 16 primate species, including 4 not previously known to harbor SIV. Overall, 131 sera (16.6%) reacted strongly and an additional 34 (4.3%) reacted weakly with HIV antigens. Molecular analysis identified five new phylogenetic SIV lineages. These data document for the first time that a substantial proportion of wild monkeys in Cameroon are SIV infected and that humans who hunt and handle bushmeat are exposed to a plethora of genetically highly divergent viruses.
Emerging infectious diseases 06/2002; 8(5):451-7. · 6.17 Impact Factor
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