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Updated: May 29, 2025
Humanized NOD/SCID/IL2rγnull (hu-NSG) Mouse Model for HIV Replication and Latency Studies
Published on: January 7, 2019
Identification of Natural Remission of Mother-to-Child Retroviral Transmission
Poonam Grover1, Megumi Murata1, Maureen Kidiga1
1Center for Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan.
Background:
Spontaneous remission once a retroviral infection has been established does not occur and infection persists lifelong.
Methods:
Stored blood samples obtained from simian T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (STLV-1)-infected Japanese macaque (JM; Macaca fuscata) mothers and their offspring during long-term follow-up as well as periodic health checkups were analyzed for proviral DNA levels, anti-STLV-1 antibody titer, DNA sequence, and viral clonality in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
Results:
We found spontaneous remission after the establishment of retrovirus mother-to-child transmission (MTCT); 3 JM infants were positive for the provirus at 5 and 8 months of age; however, no evidence of persistent STLV-1 infection was found in any of these infants thereafter up to 3 years of age. The viral env sequencing showed the presence of signature nucleotide polymorphisms, which were identical between each mother and infant but not others, suggesting STLV-1 MTCT. STLV-1-infected cells were capable of viral transmission and were composed of a heterogeneous population of clones, which were completely replaced between 5 and 8 months of age, suggesting the possibility of ongoing de novo infection from mother to infant cells. Furthermore, a retrospective study showed that 8 of 38 infants born to STLV-1-infected mothers developed transient infection comparable to the cases above.
Conclusions:
Our findings demonstrate for the first time that spontaneous remission can occur after the establishment of retroviral MTCT. Our results unveil the unique dynamics of retroviral infection during MTCT.
