Malignant lymphoma associated with human AIDS and with SIV-induced immunodeficiency in macaques

Malignant lymphomas associated with human (HIV) and simian (SIV) immunodeficiency virus infections are reviewed and compared. Recent observation of a high frequency of lymphomas in a series of cynomolgus macaques, highly immunodeficient after infection with SIVsm(smm3) are described. In addition to the increased frequency in human and monkey AIDS, SIV and HIV lymphomas share several important features. Clinically and by histology they present as aggressive high-grade malignant tumors with a predilection for extranodal growth in viscera, skin, central nervous system, testis, and retroorbitally. Most malignant lymphomas are of B-cell origin. AIDS lymphomas in humans are heterogeneous with regard to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) association. Similarly, most lymphomas in monkeys experimentally infected with SIV tested to date were shown to be associated with an EBV-like simian herpes virus. These observations point to the possibility of using SIV-immunodeficient macaques for study of EBV and other oncogenic and immunosuppressive factors in AIDS-associated lymphomagenesis.