Understanding cytotoxic T-lymphocyte escape during simian immunodeficiency virus infection

Infection of rhesus macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is an excellent model system for studying viral adaptation to immune responses. In this review, we discuss how the SIV-infected macaque has provided unequivocal evidence for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) selection of viral escape variants. This improved understanding of CTL escape may influence human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine design as well as our understanding of HIV pathogenesis.