01915nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653002300067653003800090653001200128653001900140653002500159653002800184653003400212100001500246700001900261700001500280700001400295700001500309700001400324700001400338700001500352245012500367300001100492490000800503520107600511022001401587       1989                            d  c1989 Sep10aAnimals10aAntibody Formation10aEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay10aleprosy10aMacaca mulatta10aMycobacterium leprae10aRetroviridae Infections10aSimian immunodeficiency virus1 aGormus B J1 aMurphey-Corb M1 aMartin L N1 aZhang J Y1 aBaskin G B1 aTrygg C B1 aWalsh G P1 aMeyers W M00aInteractions between simian immunodeficiency virus and Mycobacterium leprae in experimentally inoculated rhesus monkeys.  a405-130 v1603 a<p>Thirty-four rhesus monkeys were inoculated with Mycobacterium leprae inoculum isolated from sooty mangabey monkeys with leprosy. Later it was learned that one of the M. leprae-donor mangabeys was asymptomatically infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Thus, five of the rhesus monkey were coinoculated with M. leprae and SIV. Three of the five became SIV-positive and developed signs of leprosy and an AIDS-like illness. Two animals remained healthy. The coinoculated leprosy-positive rhesus monkeys developed leprosy despite serologic response patterns to M. leprae antigens that usually indicate leprosy resistance. Three (60%) of the five SIV-positive rhesus monkeys developed leprosy compared with 21% of the animals who received SIV-free M. leprae inocula. Diminished lepromin skin test responses and decreasing T-helper cell percentages were observed in SIV-coinoculated rhesus monkeys with leprosy. These observations suggest that SIV increases the susceptibility of rhesus monkeys to leprosy, possibly related to loss of T-helper cell function.</p>  a0022-1899