HIV and the malaria parasite have great disease burdens world-wide, and because their endemic regions overlap, the risk of co-infection is great. Little is known about the impact one infection has on the other's progression, but given the number of people at risk of being co-infected and the magnitude of the disease burden associated with each disease, any interaction could have a large impact on public health As more attention has been given to the potential risks of this kind of co-infection, a number of studies have been initiated to investigate the effects of co-infection. Recent studies involving Plasmodium falciparum and HIV-1 co-infection have reported increased risk of clinical malaria episodes in HIV-infected individuals with the risk rising with increased immunosuppression. Malaria parasite infection has also been reported to increase the risk of HIV transmission and a more rapid disease progression. Due to ethical concerns and other complicating factors, such as other infections and malnutrition, co-infection studies in humans have provided limited information about the impact of co-infection. As such, an animal model for HIV/malaria parasite co-infection would greatly enhance investigating the impacts of co-infection This project sought to and was able to successfully combine two well established rhesus macaque models for HIV and P. vivax infections in humans. As a result of co-infection, there was an increased risk of a more rapid SIV progression. This was reflected in (1) a decreased group survival time, (2) a twice as rapid CD4+ T cell decline, (3) an impaired CD8+ T cell response, (4) an impaired B cell response, (5) an altered IgG response to both SIV and the malaria parasite, and (6) a more rapid decline in naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_26476 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Contributors | Koehler, Jeffrey, Jr (Author), James, Mark (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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