SQUAMOUS EPITHELIAL PROLIFERATIVE LESIONS ASSOCIATED WITH RHESUS EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS IN SIMIAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-INFECTED RHESUS-MONKEYS

Proliferative lesions were found on the squamous epithelium of the ton gue, esophagus, or penis or haired skin of the lip, hand, or thorax of 8 simian immunodeficiency virus-infected rhesus monkeys that died of simian AIDS. The lesions were focal and consisted of hyperkeratosis, p arakeratosis, and acanthosis in the skin, with additional ballooning d egeneration in the tongue, esophagus, and penis. The epithelial surfac es were frequently colonized by Candida species or gram-positive cocci . Intranuclear inclusion bodies were seen in cells in the middle and s uperficial layers. Herpesvirus virions were found in inclusion-bearing cells by transmission electron microscopy. An Epstein-Barr-like virus was identified in inclusion-bearing cells by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. No virus was detectable in basal layers of the epithelium. These lesions resemble oral hairy leukoplakia in AIDS pat ients and may thus provide a useful primate model to study permissive epithelial infection by Epstein-Barr-like viruses.