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J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 187, Number 11, June 1, 1998 1767-1778
By

From the * New England Regional Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Southborough,
Massachusetts 01772; and the 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 depletion of thymocyte progenitors by day 21. A marked
rebound in thymocyte progenitors occurred by day 50 and was accompanied by increased levels of cell proliferation in the thymus. Our results demonstrate a marked increase in thymic
progenitor activity very early in the course of SIV infection, long before marked declines in peripheral CD4+ T cell counts.
Department of Mathematics, Smith College, Northampton,
Massachusetts 01063
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