Polymyositis, arthritis, and uveitis in a macaque experimentally infected with human T lymphotropic virus type I

To establish a simian model of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection and disease.

Irradiated HTLV-I-producing cells were used to infect two 2-year-old rhesus macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta). One monkey was also simultaneously inoculated with a cell-free suspension of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Evidence of infection was monitored by serial clinical examinations and by serologic, molecular, and virologic assays.

Both HTLV-I-inoculated monkeys became persistently infected following inoculation. Clinical disease was observed in the singly inoculated monkey, which developed arthritis (with synovial fluid positive for HTLV-I by culture and polymerase chain reaction), anterior chamber uveitis, and steroid-responsive polymyositis confirmed by electrophysiologic studies. The dually inoculated animal remained clinically healthy, despite high levels of SIV and HTLV-I virus expression and loss of HTLV-I-specific antibodies.

These results indicate the utility of a nonhuman primate model for studying HTLV-I disease pathogenesis and the dynamics of SIV-1/HTLV-I retroviral coinfection.