Authors:
Siddappa N Byrareddy, Brianne Kallam, James Arthos, Claudia Cicala, Fatima Nawaz, Joseph Hiatt, Ellen N Kersh, Janet M McNicholl, Debra Hanson, Keith A Reimann, Markus Brameier, Lutz Walter, Kenneth Rogers, Ann E Mayne, Paul Dunbar, Tara Villinger, Dawn Little, Tristram G Parslow, Philip J Santangelo, Francois Villinger, Anthony S Fauci, & Aftab A Ansari
Summary:
α4β7 integrin–expressing CD4+ T cells preferentially traffic to gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and have a key role in HIV and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) pathogenesis. We show here that the administration of an anti-α4β7 monoclonal antibody just prior to and during acute infection protects rhesus macaques from transmission following repeated low-dose intravaginal challenges with SIVmac251. In treated animals that became infected, the GALT was significantly protected from infection and CD4+ T cell numbers were maintained in both the blood and the GALT. Thus, targeting α4β7 reduces mucosal transmission of SIV in macaques.
Source:
Nature Medicine; (11/24/14)