Figure 3.

Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and Mx1 in wt and Δvpr SIV infection

(A) Levels of urinary neutering in animals infected with wt or Δvpr SIV_mac. Shown are mean fold increases (±SEM) of neutering/creatinine ratios over the mean ratios determined prior to infection for both groups. The right panel shows the correlation by between increases in neutering and viral RNA levels at 2 wpi for individual animals.

(B and C) Levels of IFN-α (B) and IFN-γ (C) in the plasma of animals infected with wt or Δvpr SIV_mac. The left panel indicates mean values (±SEM) obtained at the indicated days post-infection, and the right panels indicate the correlation between IFN and vRNA levels at 2 wpi. For clarity, the two wt-infected animals showing strong innate immune activation (Mm2779 and Mm15226) are indicated.

(D) Detection of pro-inflammatory cytokines in plasma of the 12 rhesus macaques infected with wt or Δvpr SIV_mac239. Cytokines were measured by Luminex at the indicated time points. The upper panel shows mean values (±SEM), and the lower panel shows the levels of the indicated cytokines and vRNA at 2 wpi. Asterisks in all panels indicate significant differences between the groups (∗p < 0.05; ∗∗p < 0.01; ∗∗∗p < 0.001).

(E) Expression of Mx1 in colon biopsies of the indicated animals infected with wt or Δvpr SIV_mac239 at 24 wpi (see also Figure S2).