Why some primates, but not humans, can live with immunodeficiency viruses and not progress to AIDS.

Publication: AIDS Vaccine Week

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Key differences in immune system signaling and the production of specific immune regulatory molecules may explain why some primates are able to live with an immunodeficiency virus infection without progressing to AIDS-like illness, unlike other primate species, including rhesus macaques and humans, that succumb to disease (see also Emory University).

Following the identification of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) as the cause of AIDS 25 years ago, an extensive search was undertaken to identify the source of the virus. These studies led to the discovery that chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys are infected in the wild with simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV), whose transmission to humans and macaques leads to AIDS.

Surprisingly, the natural hosts for the AIDS viruses, such as the mangabeys and numerous other African primate species who have been found to harbor SIVs in the wild, remain healthy despite infection. Understanding how the natural hosts...

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