Vaginal transmission of HIV-1 in hu-SCID mice: a new model for the evaluation of vaginal microbicides

Objective: To develop an animal model of vaginal transmission of HIV-1 for the evaluation of vaginal microbicides. Design: Vaginal infection was performed in SCID mice reconstituted with 4 X 10(7) human peripheral blood lymphocytes (hu-PBL) by non-invasive vaginal administration. The hu-PBL were previously infected in vitro with a non-syncytium (NSI) strain of HIV-1 (SF162) (hu-PBL-SCID). Lymphocyte migration in vivo was examined using fluorescently labelled human lymphocytes. Methods: The percentage of CD4 T cells, plasma viral load and p24 antigen were evaluated using fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS), the Amplicor HIV-1 monitor kit and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was performed on DNA extracted from spleen and lymph nodes. For in vivo migration of labelled lymphocytes, the mice were sacrified after 4, 24 and 48 h; vaginae and local lymph nodes were removed, snap frozen with OCT, sectioned and examined by fluorescent microscopy and FACS. Results: HIV transmission was established using virus-infected cells inoculated vaginally, as shown by FACS, HIV viral load, p24 and PCR results. Labelled cells were easily located within the vaginal tissues after 4 h. However, few or no cells could be identified after 24 or 48 h at the vaginal level, whereas labelled cells could be detected at the level of regional lymph nodes. Conclusions: Because of its simplicity and practical features compared with other animal models, the vaginal HIV-infected hu-SCID mouse model may prove useful to test the activity of compounds against cell-associated HIV and, possibly, other sexually transmitted diseases. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.