Experimental leprosy studies using Mycobacterium leprae inoculum isolated from a sooty mangabey monkey (SMM) resulted in the accidental discovery that SMM's asymptomatically carry simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that is pathogenic in macaques. We showed that the SMM virus, SIVDelta, was antigenically related to SIVmac, which had been identified in macaques, and to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Similar asymptomatic natural SIV infections had been reported in African green monkeys (AGM). Our results together with observations of others led us to propose that both SIVmac and SIVDelta originated in SMM and that SIV emerged in humans as a result of early African nonhuman primate SIV trans-species infections in humans.
BT - Frontiers in bioscience : a journal and virtual library C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14766361?dopt=Abstract DA - 2004 Jan 01 DO - 10.2741/1151 J2 - Front. Biosci. LA - eng N2 -Experimental leprosy studies using Mycobacterium leprae inoculum isolated from a sooty mangabey monkey (SMM) resulted in the accidental discovery that SMM's asymptomatically carry simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that is pathogenic in macaques. We showed that the SMM virus, SIVDelta, was antigenically related to SIVmac, which had been identified in macaques, and to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Similar asymptomatic natural SIV infections had been reported in African green monkeys (AGM). Our results together with observations of others led us to propose that both SIVmac and SIVDelta originated in SMM and that SIV emerged in humans as a result of early African nonhuman primate SIV trans-species infections in humans.
PY - 2004 SP - 216 EP - 24 T2 - Frontiers in bioscience : a journal and virtual library TI - A brief history of the discovery of natural simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infections in captive sooty mangabey monkeys. VL - 9 SN - 1093-9946 ER -