Cytomegalovirus and simian immunodeficiency virus coinfection: longitudinal study of antibody responses and disease progression

Animal studies of HIV infection show that the antibody response to cytomegalovirus may determine the progression to AIDS. Researchers studied Rhesus monkeys who were infected with rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) and a subgroup of monkeys experimentally infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). SIV-infected monkeys who experienced a drop in antibody levels against RhCMV rapidly progressed to AIDS whereas those with stable antibody levels did not. RhCMV antibody levels in monkeys not infected with SIV also remained relatively stable.