ANTIGENIC-STIMULATION BY BCG VACCINE AS AN IN-VIVO DRIVING-FORCE FOR SIV REPLICATION AND DISSEMINATION

The impact of antigenic stimulation on the dynamics of simian immunode ficiency virus (SIV) replication was studied following repeated intrav enous BCC inoculation of a SIV infected macaque. At the site of a dela yed type hypersensitivity reaction to purified protein derivative of M . tuberculosis, a distinctive SIV variant was noted, probably as a res ult of the infiltration of activated antigen-specific T cell clones as opposed to infection by blood borne virus in situ. The dynamics of SI V quasispecies in peripheral blood suggests sequential waves of viral replication, illustrating the role of antigenic stimulation as a drivi ng force in viral dissemination and pathogenesis.