Our limited understanding of the interaction between primate lentiviruses and the host immune system complicates the design of an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine. To identify immunological correlates of protection from SIV disease progression, we immunized two groups of five rhesus macaques (RMs) with either modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) or MVADeltaudg vectors that expressed SIVmac239 Gag and Tat. ...

Control of infectious disease may be accomplished by successful vaccination or by complex immunologic and genetic factors favoring Ag-specific multicellular immune responses. Using a rhesus macaque model, we evaluated Ag-specific T cell-dependent NK cell immune responses in SIV-infected macaques, designated "controlling" or "noncontrolling" based on long-term chronic viremia levels, to determin...

We demonstrate a new approach for engineering group IV semiconductor-based quantum photonic structures containing negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV(-)) color centers in diamond as quantum emitters. Hybrid diamond-SiC structures are realized by combining the growth of nano- and microdiamonds on silicon carbide (3C or 4H polytype) substrates, with the subsequent use of these diamond crystal...

SIV infection of natural host species such as sooty mangabeys results in high viral replication without clinical signs of simian AIDS. Studying such infections is useful for identifying immunologic parameters that lead to AIDS in HIV-infected patients. Here we have demonstrated that acute, SIV-induced CD4(+) T cell depletion in sooty mangabeys does not result in immune dysfunction and progressi...

Live-attenuated strains of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) routinely confer apparent sterilizing immunity against pathogenic SIV challenge in rhesus macaques. Understanding the mechanisms of protection by live-attenuated SIV may provide important insights into the immune responses needed for protection against HIV-1. Here we investigated the development of antibodies that are functional aga...

Nanodiamonds (NDs) containing silicon vacancy (SiV) defects were evaluated as a potential biomarker for the labeling and fluorescent imaging of neural precursor cells (NPCs). SiV-containing NDs were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition and silicon ion implantation. Spectrally, SiV-containing NDs exhibited extremely stable fluorescence and narrow bandwidth emission with an excellent signa...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the genetic determinants of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) neurovirulence map to the env and nef genes. Recent studies from our laboratory demonstrated that SIV replication in primary rhesus macaque astrocyte cultures is dependent upon the nef gene. Here, we demonstrate that macrophage tropism is not sufficient for replication in astrocytes and that ...

The thymus plays a critical role in the maturation and production of T lymphocytes and is a target of infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the related simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Using the SIV/macaque model of AIDS, we examined the early effects of SIV on the thymus. We found that thymic infection by SIV resulted in increased apoptosis 7-14 d after infection, followed by...

In addition to the viral envelope (Env) proteins, host cell-derived proteins have been reported to be present in human immunodeficiency virus and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) envelopes, and it has been postulated that they may play a role in infection. We investigated whether the incorporation of host cell proteins is affected by the structure and level of incorporation of viral Env prot...