Fatal infection of silvered leaf monkeys with a virus-like infectious agent (VLIA) derived from a patient with AIDS.

Four silvered leaf monkeys, inoculated with a virus-like infectious agent (VLIA) derived from transformed NIH/3T3 cells (sb51) transfected with Kaposi's sarcoma DNA of an AIDS patient, showed wasting syndromes and died in 7-9 months. Two monkeys had a transient lymphadenopathy in earlier stages. Two moribund animals showed lymphopenia. Although 3 of the VLIA inoculated monkeys had persistent low grade fever early in the infection, the animals became afebrile in the later stages. One VLIA inoculated animal had a prominent antibody response, which occurred 7 months after VLIA inoculation. The other 3 monkeys had a transient or poor antibody response in the later stages. These 3 animals revealed periodic VLIA antigenemia during the course of the experiment. A control monkey was killed 8 months after the last VLIA inoculated monkey succumbed and showed neither an antibody response nor evidence of antigenemia. VLIA-specific DNA could be directly detected in necropsy tissues of all 4 monkeys inoculated with VLIA using the polymerase chain reaction method. VLIA infection was identified in all 4 spleens, 2 of 4 livers, 1 of 2 kidneys, and all 3 brains tested from these 4 animals, but not in the tissues from the control monkey. The necropsy examination of the 4 VLIA inoculated animals revealed no opportunistic infections, acute inflammatory lesions, malignancy or cause of death other than VLIA infection. We believe that the VLIA caused a fatal systemic infection in these monkeys.