Rs. Veazey et al., GASTROINTESTINAL-TRACT AS A MAJOR SITE OF CD4-CELL DEPLETION AND VIRAL REPLICATION IN SIV INFECTION( T), Science, 280(5362), 1998, pp. 427-431
Human and simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV and SIV) replicate optima
lly in activated memory CD4(+) T cells, a cell type that is abundant i
n the intestine. SIV infection of rhesus monkeys resulted in profound
and selective depletion of CD4(+) T cells in the intestine within days
of infection, before any such changes in peripheral lymphoid tissues.
The loss of CD4(+) T cells in the intestine occurred coincident with
productive infection of large numbers of mononuclear cells at this sit
e. The intestine appears to be a major target for SIV replication and
the major site of CD4(+) T cell loss in early SIV infection.