Letvin N L, Daniel M D, Sehgal P K, Desrosiers R C, Hunt R D, Waldron L M, MacKey J J, Schmidt D K, Chalifoux L V, King N W
Science. 1985 Oct 4;230(4721):71-3. doi: 10.1126/science.2412295.
The T-cell tropic retrovirus of macaque monkeys STLV-III has morphologic, growth, and antigenic properties indicating that it is related to HTLV-III/LAV, the etiologic agent of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in humans. Four of six rhesus monkeys died within 160 days of STLV-III inoculation with a wasting syndrome, opportunistic infections, a primary retroviral encephalitis, and immunologic abnormalities including a decrease in T4+ peripheral blood lymphocytes. These data show that an immunodeficiency syndrome can be produced experimentally in a nonhuman primate by an agent from the HTLV-III/LAV group of retroviruses. The STLV-III-macaque system will thus provide a useful model for the study of antiviral agents and vaccine development for human AIDS.
猕猴的嗜T细胞逆转录病毒STLV-III具有形态学、生长和抗原特性，表明它与人类获得性免疫缺陷综合征（艾滋病）的病原体HTLV-III/LAV相关。六只恒河猴中有四只在接种STLV-III后的160天内死于消瘦综合征、机会性感染、原发性逆转录病毒性脑炎以及免疫异常，包括T4+外周血淋巴细胞减少。这些数据表明，HTLV-III/LAV逆转录病毒组中的一种病原体可在非人类灵长类动物中通过实验产生免疫缺陷综合征。因此，STLV-III-猕猴系统将为研究人类艾滋病的抗病毒药物和疫苗开发提供一个有用的模型。
