T cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) analysis during acute intrarectal infection of cynomolgus monkeys with pathogenic chimeric simian human immunodeficiency virus

Several studies have shown the importance of evaluating Recent Thymic Emigrants (RTEs) by quantification of T cell receptor-rearrangement excision circles (TRECs), as a measure of de novo T cell generation during human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. To determine whether acute viral infection may have an impact on TRECs, cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were infected intrarectally with simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) 89.6Pcy11 and the number of signal-joint (sj) TRECs was determined in purified CD4+ and CD8+ populations for up to 28 weeks post-infection. Four weeks after infection, TRECs levels significantly decreased in both CD3+CD4+ and in CD3+CD8+ T lymphocytes of infected monkeys, whereas they remained unchanged in uninfected animals. This reduction was followed by a progressive TRECs number recovery in CD3+CD4+ T lymphocytes that positively correlated with changes in the levels of circulating CD3+CD4+ T cells. In the CD3+CD8+ T cell subset, TRECs number remained significantly low and inversely correlated with the increase in the percentages of CD3+CD8+ T cells. These data suggest that SHIV89.6Pcy11 intrarectal infection of cynomolgus monkeys differently affects TRECs content in CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cell subsets.