QUINOLINIC ACID AND LYMPHOCYTE SUBSETS IN THE INTRATHECAL COMPARTMENTAS BIOMARKERS OF SIV INFECTION AND SIMIAN AIDS

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected from monkeys infected with SIVmac251 (SIV) Or HIV-1/SIVmac chimeric viruses (SHIVHXBc2 and SHIV89.6P) to investigate quinolinic acid (QUIN) levels in the intrath ecal compartment. CSF levels of QUIN were elevated in the SIV-infected monkeys, especially in animals with end-stage disease, and in those i nfected with pathogenic SHIV89.6P, but not after infection with the no npathogenic construct SHIVHXBc2 QUIN elevations occurred in associatio n with reduced CD4(+) and increased CD8(+) lymphocytes, cellular alter ations that were more pronounced in CSF than in the blood. These findi ngs support the view that the intrathecal compartment provides a uniqu e window on viral infection, and are in keeping with the a priori pred iction that QUIN increases primarily in response to more pathogenic vi ral strains.