Animal models for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

This chapter discusses the major animal models used for the study of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Relationships among the different viruses used are discussed. In addition to a description of each model, an attempt is made to evaluate its utility for development of vaccines and antiviral therapeutic agents and for studies of the basic pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. The chimpanzee infection with HIV-1 represents the best test of a HIV-1 vaccine but has little value for therapeutic agents because no disease follows infection. The immunodeficiency seen in the simian immunodeficiency viruses and feline immunodeficiency virus models mimics AIDS and these serve as models for pathogenesis; however, structural differences in the viruses preclude a direct test of anti-HIV vaccines in these models. Techniques for culturing and infecting various cell types should be available to facilitate basic studies of virus attachment and replication. The proposed models vary considerably in choice of animal species and in the viruses used for infection. The proposals range from use of an endangered species—the chimpanzee that supports infection with HIV-1 without apparent disease—to infection of the abundant and easily maintained laboratory mouse with murine leukemia viruses, which are unrelated to HIV but cause a form of immunodeficiency.