This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.The overall aim of this project is to study the homeostatic regulation of T cells in healthy rhesus macaques (RM) and sooty mangabeys (SM) via antibody-induced depletion of specific T cell subsets. The performed analyses included: (1) immunophenotypic studies, (2) determination of levels of recent thymic emigrants, and (3) examination of levels of cytokines, i.e. IL-7, IL-15and IL-2, that may play a role in T cell homeostasis. We also evaluated the role of the thymus in T cell homeostasis by performing CD4+ and CD8+ T cell depletions in both normal and thymectomized animals. This comparative study has provided information on (1) the differential role of BM, LN and thymus in T cell homeostasis; (2) the specific features of the homeostasis ofCD4+ and CD8+ T cells; (3) the immunophenotype of T cells that are proliferating via homeostatic mechanisms; and (4) the role of cytokines in reconstituting acutely depleted T cell populations. This project provided useful information on the homeostasis of T cells in primates, and how the failure of this homeostasis may play a role in the pathogenesis of AIDS.
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