Natural Host Genetic Resistance to Lentiviral CNS Disease: A Neuroprotective MHC Class I Allele in SIV-Infected Macaques
Figure 3
Mane-A*10 expression did not influence CD4+ T cell decline or plasma viral load but was associated with lower CSF viral loads.
Comparing longitudinal trends in CD4+ T cell decline from baseline pre-infection values and plasma SIV RNA demonstrated that Mane-A*10 expression was not associated with either extent of CD4+ T cell decline throughout infection (A) or with altered plasma viral load set points in untreated SIV-infected macaques at any time point from primary through asymptomatic to terminal stages of (B). To determine whether Mane-A*10 expression was associated with altered viral replication in the periphery, mean plasma viral load throughout infection was measured in untreated SIV-infected animals grouped by Mane-A*10 status (Mane-A*10 positive animals represented by circles, n = 11; Mane-A*10 negative animals represented by triangles, n = 21). Plasma viral load also did not differ significantly between these groups at any time-point from day 14 post-inoculation until terminal sampling (P>0.05). Similarly, Mane-A*10 expression status was not associated with extent of % CD4+ T cell decline in SIV-infected macaques, with no statistically significant difference between groups of animals composed of Mane-A*10 positive animals (circles) versus Mane-A*10 negative macaques (triangles). Combined, these data indicate that neither plasma viral load or CD4+ T cell loss are associated with expression of Mane-A*10 in pigtailed macaques inoculated with SIV/17E-Fr and SIV/DeltaB670. In contrast, mean SIV RNA levels in CSF were lower in the group of Mane-A*10 positive animals (circles) versus Mane-A*10 negative macaques (triangles).