Project description:Large-scale downregulation of cytokeratins in amniotic epithelium after Group B Streptococcus choriodecidual infection in Macaca nemestrina: a pathway to PPROM
Project description:Primates have evolved a variety of restriction factors that prevent retroviral replication. One such factor, TRIM5alpha, mediates a postentry restriction in many Old World primates. Among New World primates, Aotus trivirgatus exerts a similar early restriction mediated by TRIMCyp, a TRIM5-cyclophilin A (CypA) chimera resulting from a CypA retrotransposition between exons 7 and 8 of the TRIM5 gene. Macaca nemestrina do not express TRIM5alpha; therefore, we asked whether these animals and related Old World primates express TRIMCyp. RT-PCR of total RNA from M. nemestrina and Macaca fascicularis yielded three TRIMCyp amplification products, one of which is predicted to encode a TRIMCyp chimera containing a full-length CypA. Unlike A. trivirgatus, genomic sequencing of M. nemestrina and M. fascicularis identifies a CypA retrotransposition in the 3' untranslated region of the TRIM5 locus. There is approximately 78% homology between the predicted protein sequences of Old World and New World primate TRIMCyp, with most of the differences found in the TRIM5-derived sequence. Notably, exon 7 is absent from both M. nemestrina and M. fascicularis TRIMCyp. Neither M. nemestrina nor M. fascicularis TRIMCyp could restrict HIV-1 or simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac in an in vitro infectivity assay. The discovery of TRIMCyp in both M. nemestrina and M. fascicularis indicates that TRIMCyp expression may be more common among Old World primates than previously believed. Convergent evolution of TRIMCyp in both Old World and New World primates suggests that TRIMCyp may have provided evolutionary advantages.
Project description:The TRIM5 family of proteins contains a RING domain, one or two B boxes, and a coiled-coil domain. The TRIM5alpha isoform also encodes a C-terminal B30.2(SPRY) domain, differences within which define the breadth and potency of TRIM5alpha-mediated retroviral restriction. Because Macaca nemestrina animals are susceptible to some human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) isolates, we sought to determine if differences exist in the TRIM5 gene and transcripts of these animals. We identified a two-nucleotide deletion (Delta2) in the transcript at the 5' terminus of exon 7 in all M. nemestrina TRIM5 cDNA clones examined. This frameshift results in a truncated protein of 300 amino acids lacking the B30.2(SPRY) domain, which we have named TRIM5theta. This deletion is likely due to a single nucleotide polymorphism that alters the 3' splice site between intron 6 and exon 7. In some clones, a deletion of the entire 27-nucleotide exon 7 (Deltaexon7) resulted in the restoration of the TRIM5 open reading frame and the generation of another novel isoform, TRIM5eta. There are 18 amino acid differences between M. nemestrina TRIM5eta and Macaca mulatta TRIM5alpha, some of which are at or near locations previously shown to affect the breadth and potency of TRIM5alpha-mediated restriction. Infectivity assays performed on permissive CrFK cells stably transduced with TRIM5eta or TRIM5theta show that these isoforms are incapable of restricting either HIV type 1 (HIV-1) or simian immunodeficiency virus infection. The expression of TRIM5 alleles incapable of restricting HIV-1 infection may contribute to the previously reported increased susceptibility of M. nemestrina to HIV-1 infection in vivo.
Project description:Fetal sepsis in utero induces disruption of gene networks involved in cardiac morphogenesis in a nonhuman primate model of infection-induced preterm labor
Project description:Early events leading to intrauterine infection remain poorly defined, but may hold the key to a therapeutic intervention for preterm delivery. To determine early molecular pathways associated with membrane weakening that may progress to preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), we examined the effects of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) on fetal membranes after a choriodecidual infection.
Project description:We present a case of spontaneous meningioma in a female pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) more than 24 years old. Clinically, the monkey displayed slow, weak, and insecure movements and poor vision. A tumorous mass was present at the floor of the cranial vault extending from the optic chiasm towards the foramen magnum. It compressed adjacent parts of the brain, infiltrated the sphenoidal and occipital bone, and showed transcranial expansion into the pharyngeal area. Histologically, the tumor was consistent with a meningioma displaying mostly meningothelial and some microcystic components. Since only six cases of meningiomas in nonhuman primates have been reported so far and only two of these meningiomas have been described in detail, the findings of each case should be reported to expand the knowledge base of this type of tumor. In addition, this is the first description of a meningioma in pig-tailed macaques.