Hypothetical endogenous SIV-like antigens in Mauritian cynomolgus macaques

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Date
2018-02-28Author
Li, Hongzhao
Li, Lin
Liu, Lewis
Omange, Were
Toledo, Nikki
Kashem, Mohammad
Hai, Yan
Liang, Binhua
Plummer, Francis
Luo, Ma
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Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCMs) is an increasingly important nonhuman primate model for HIV vaccine research. We previously reported that in MCMs anti-SIV antibodies can be naturally developed
without exogenous infection or vaccination, and that a vaccine targeting SIV protease cleavage sites (PCS) can cross-induce antibodies to non-PCS SIV antigens. We speculate that this is potentially caused by the existence of endogenous SIV-like antigens. External stimuli (such as environmental factors and vaccination) may induce expression of endogenous SIV-like antigens to elicit these antibodies. Database and mass spectrometry analyses were conducted to search for such antigens. We identified endogenous SIV-like
DNA sequences in cynomolgus macaque genome and non-PCS peptide homologous to SIV Env protein in PBMCs of a PCS-vaccinated monkey. Our preliminary insights suggest that endogenous SIV-like antigens may be one of the possible reasons for the natural and
cross-inducible SIV antibodies in MCMs.