T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) analysis during acute intrarectal infection of cynomolgus monkeys with pathogenic chimeric simian human immunodeficiency virus

Abstract: Several studies have shown the importance of evaluating Recent Thymic Emigrants (RTEs) by quantification of T cell receptor-rearrangement excision circles (TRECs), as a measure of de novo T cell generation during human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. To determine whether acute viral infection may have an impact on TRECs, cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were infected intrarectally with simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) 89.6Pcy11 and the number of signal-joint (sj) TRECs was determined in purified CD4+ and CD8+ populations for up to 28 weeks post-infection. Four weeks after infection, TRECs levels significantly decreased in both CD3+CD4+ and in CD3+CD8+ T lymphocytes of infected monkeys, whereas they remained unchanged in uninfected animals. This reduction was followed by a progressive TRECs number recovery in CD3+CD4+ T lymphocytes that positively correlated with changes in the levels of circulating CD3+CD4+ T cells. In the CD3+CD8+ T cell subset, TRECs number remained significantly low and inversely correlated with the increase in the percentages of CD3+CD8+ T cells. These data suggest that SHIV89.6Pcy11 intrarectal infection of cynomolgus monkeys differently affects TRECs content in CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cell subsets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]