Lauren G. Wolfe

Simian Herpesviruses and Neoplasia

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on simian herpesviruses and the role these viruses play in neoplasia. It describes several simian herpesviruses, along with summarizing data related to this. It compares the oncogenic simian herpesviruses with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), along with providing additional, indirect evidence for a causal relationship between EBV and some lymphomas in man. The studies of simian oncogenic herpesviruses have led to renewed efforts to transform lymphocytes from animals of the species susceptible to tumor induction by Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) or Herpesvirus ateles (HVA) with EBV, and to induce lymphomas in some of the same animals. The great importance of nonhuman primate model systems is stated in the chapter for the opportunities they offer in studying the pathogenetic mechanisms of lymphoproliferative diseases induced by herpesviruses. Further use of these models for vaccination and therapeutic studies may lead to the control of these diseases in man.

Transmission of viral hepatitis to nonhuman primates.

Attempts to transmit human viral hepatitis to nonhuman primates go back many years ; generally such attempts produced inconsistent results and were almost abandoned when in 1961 HILLIS [a] reported the first accidental transmissions of hepatitis from chimpanzees t o man. During the years following HILLIS’S report a total of 34 microepidemics in groups of individuals in close contact with various species of nonhuman primates were reported and these findings stimulated further attempts to induce human viral hepatitis in nonhuman primates by inoculation of human sera or stools obtained during the acute stage of the disease [3]. Once again most experiments were inconclusive but in 1965 our laboratory reported the transmission of human infectious hepatitis (Australia or hepatitis associated antigen negative, short incubation period hepatitis, IH) to some species of marmoset monkeys (small South American nonhuman primates) [4, 51 and we present here further evidence that the disease in marmosets is caused by an actual transmission of human agents and is not an activation of latent marmoset viruses.

Lymphocyte populations of Callithrix jacchus marmosets.

Abstract A lymphocyte population of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) was identified by rosette formation with African green monkey erythrocytes; the rosette-forming cells appeared to be T lymphocytes, as approximately 62% of circulating lymphocytes and 85% of thymus cells formed rosettes with African green monkey erythrocytes. In addition, common marmoset lymphoid cells carrying T-lymphotropic Herpesvirus saimiri or Herpesvirus ateles formed rosettes with African green monkey erythrocytes and treatment of common marmoset circulating lymphocytes with an anti-T cell serum and complement (C′) eliminated rosette-forming cells. Common marmoset T lymphocytes apparently carry a surface receptor for African green monkey erythrocytes, but unlike humans and other closely related nonhuman primates, T lymphocytes of common marmosets fail to form rosettes with sheep erythrocytes.