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The 11 th International Workshop on KSHV & Related Agents, Birmingham, UK
Pathogenesis Abstract 16
DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMAL MODELS OF KSHV INFECTION AND AIDS-
ASSOCIATED DISEASE BASED ON MACAQUE RHADINOVIRUSES
A. Gregory Bruce 1 , Jonathan T. Ryan 1 , Courtney Gravett 1,2 , and Timothy M. Rose 1,2 ,
1 Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and 2 University of Washington, Seattle WA
Abstract
Two related viral lineages within the Rhadinovirus genus of gammaherpesviruses have
been identified in macaques and other Old World non-human primates. In macaques,
the prototypes of these lineages were first identified in the rhesus macaque (Macaca
mulatta); retroperitoneal fibromatosis-associated herpesvirus (RFHVMm) and rhesus
rhadinovirus (RRV) members of the Rhadinovirus-1 (RV1) and RV2 lineages, respectively.
Each macaque species is host to a distinct pair of RV1 and RV2 rhadinoviruses,
distinguishable by molecular sequence. Both RV1 and RV2 rhadinoviruses have been
implicated in diseases in macaques that closely resemble cancers and proliferative
diseases associated with KSHV in humans, including Kaposi sarcoma (KS), lymphoma
and multicentric Castleman’s disease. Thus, the characterization of the macaque
rhadinoviruses, including the development of specific reagents and assays that enable
the evaluation of their biology and life cycles, is an important aspect in the development
of KSHV-related macaque models of disease. We have developed protocols for
experimental infection of macaques with both RV1 and RV2 macaque rhadinoviruses, and
are developing reagents and analytical approaches to follow the resulting infections and
host responses to infection in vivo. We will present the current status of the first small
pilot study examining the experimental infection of naïve macaques with infectious
rhadinoviruses from saliva of infected macaques and subsequent chemical and viral
treatments to activate virus by inducing immunosuppression. These studies will provide
the groundwork for establishing relevant animal models of human disease associated
with KSHV.
Presenting author Email: greg.bruce@seattlechildrens.org
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