Wild-caught Baboons Research Articles

The influence of quarantine on reproductive cycling in wild-caught Baboons (Papio anubis).

Stress impacts nonhuman primate menstrual cycle length but the impact of quarantine is unknown. A retrospective analysis was performed on cycle data from 31 wild-caught baboons during and following quarantine. Cycling initiated in 94 days (19-181) and length normalized within 4-6 cycles. Quarantine significantly impacts menstrual cycle length.

Occult hepatitis B virus infection in chacma baboons, South Africa.

During previous studies of susceptibility to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, HBV DNA was detected in 2/6 wild-caught baboons. In the present study, HBV DNA was amplified from 15/69 wild-caught baboons. All animals were negative for HBV surface antigen and antibody against HBV core antigen. Liver tissue from 1 baboon was immunohistochemically negative for HBV surface antigen but positive for HBV core antigen. The complete HBV genome of an isolate from this liver clustered with subgenotype A2. Reverse transcription PCR of liver RNA amplified virus precore and surface protein genes, indicating replication of virus in baboon liver tissue. Four experimentally naive baboons were injected with serum from HBV DNA–positive baboons. These 4 baboons showed transient seroconversion, and HBV DNA was amplified from serum at various times after infection. The presence of HBV DNA at relatively low levels and in the absence of serologic markers in the baboon, a nonhuman primate, indicates an occult infection.

Tracking Dietary Transitions in Weanling Baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) Using Strontium/Calcium Ratios in Enamel

Strontium and calcium are incorporated into developing teeth in a manner that reflects changing physiological concentrations in the body. A new model predicts changes in strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios in response to dietary transitions experienced at birth and during the weaning period. Microsampling of longitudinal thin sections of tooth enamel using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry provides a basis for the systematic evaluation of variation in Sr/Ca ratios within the tooth crown. Incremental growth markers in enamel are used to determine the age of onset of enamel mineralization at each sampling point. Thin sections of 5 teeth from 2 wild-caught baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) were systematically analysed using this technique. Intra- and intertooth analyses of Sr/Ca ratios reveal a pattern of dietary development during the period of enamel formation that is consistent with observational data on the timing of weaning behaviour in anubis baboons.

Detection of natural infection with Mycobacterium intracellulare in healthy wild-caught Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) by ESAT-6 and CFP-10 IFN-gamma ELISPOT tests following a tuberculosis outbreak.

BackgroundBoth tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria can cause infection in nonhuman primates (NHP), indicating the existence of potential zoonotic transmission between these animals and visitors to zoos or animal handlers in primate facilities. Screening of mycobacterial infections in NHP is traditionally done by tuberculin skin test (TST), which is unable to distinguish between pathogenic and non-pathogenic mycobacterial infections. In this study, we investigated the use of ESAT-6 and CFP-10 for detection of mycobacterial infections in a wild-caught baboon colony after one baboon died of tuberculosis (TB).MethodsPeripheral blood lymphocytes for interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot assay (IFN-γ ELISPOT) assay were obtained from TST positive baboons and those in contact with tuberculous baboons before being euthanased, autopsied and lung tissues taken for histology and mycobacterial culture.ResultsBoth ESAT-6 and CFP-10 IFN-γ ELISPOT assays were able to detect early M. tuberculosis but also M. intracellulare infection. Although this indicates potential cross-reactivity with M. intracellulare antigens, the method was able to distinguish M. bovis BCG vaccination from M. tuberculosis infection. This assay performed better than the TST, which failed to detect one M. tuberculosis and two early M. intracellulare infections.ConclusionThese results suggest that the IFN-γ ELISPOT assay could improve the detection of M tuberculosis infections when screening NHP. There is some doubt, however, concerning specificity, as the assay scored positive three animals infected with M. intracellulare.

Sparganosis in wild‐caught baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

Sparganosis is the infection of a paratenic host with the plerocercoid metacestode of Spirometra spp. A 12-year-old captive, pregnant, wild-caught baboon from Tanzania had multiple subcutaneous nodules. Examination of the biopsied nodules revealed the presence of viable metacestodes. The histological morphology of the metacestodes was consistent with the genus Spirometra and other pseudophyllidean cestodes. Since species of Spirometra produce growth hormones that are active in mammals, we measured fetal and placental growth and hormone levels. Blood samples were taken from the mother and the cesarean-derived fetus for hematological, biochemical, and hormonal analyses and to test for the presence of antispargana antibodies. Baboon placental weight and fetal hematological, biochemical, and morphometric parameters were within normal ranges. Antibody titers to spargana did not differ significantly between mother (1.08 OD(405)) and fetus (0.91 OD(405)). Baboon maternal insulin-like growth factor and growth hormone values were also within the normal range. Estradiol and progesterone analysis in four of these animals (antibody titers ranged from 0.71 to 1.7 OD(405)) showed no statistically significant difference with age- or phase-matched cycle parameters compared with antibody-negative females. Based on the results that have been obtained, sparganosis did not appear to affect the endocrinological profile of pregnant and cycling female baboons.

Anti-pig antibody levels in naïve baboons and cynomolgus monkeys.

Anti-pig antibodies (APA) were analysed in serum from 28 naïve wild-caught baboons (originating from Kenya) and 31 naïve captive-bred cynomolgus monkeys (13 from the Philippines and 18 from Mauritius), using a haemolytic assay with pig erythrocytes (APA), flow cytometry on the porcine lymphoma T-cell cell line L35, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using alpha-Gal type II and type VI antigen. This was extended in baboon samples by the evaluation in two laboratories (Imutran, Cambridge, UK and Immerge, Boston, USA), and by antibody absorption using either immobilized alpha-Gal type II or alpha-Gal type VI. Anti-porcine antibodies were demonstrated in all assays with substantial variability within and between the three non-human primate groups. Immunoglobulin (Ig)M antibody levels tended to be similar to or higher than those in a pooled normal human standard serum while IgG levels tended to be lower. Highest antibody levels were recorded in Mauritius cynomolgus monkeys. There were statistically significant correlations between assays for IgM or IgG class anti-Gal antibodies using either alpha-Gal type II or alpha-Gal type VI as antigen, both for different assays and two laboratories involved. Also, significant correlations were observed between the anti-Gal and L35 binding assays. Baboon sera before and after absorption to immobilized alpha-Gal type II or type VI were analysed for anti-Gal type VI or type II antibody: levels were almost undetectable indicating that most anti-Gal antibodies react to epitopes shared between alpha-Gal type II and type VI oligosaccharides. Finally, the relation between APA and outcome of porcine heart xenotransplantation in cynomolgus monkeys and baboons showed no apparent relation between pre-transplant APA levels and the occurrence of hyperacute rejection (HAR) when compared with non-immunological cause of organ/recipient dysfunction or acute humoral xenograft rejection during the first 4 days post-transplantation or survival exceeding 4 days post-transplantation.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analyses of a new simian T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 in a wild-caught african baboon (Papio anubis) with an indeterminate STLV type 2-like serology.

STLV-1 viruses are closely related to HTLV-1 and infect many African monkey species. Seroreactivities of monkeys infected by STLV-1 are nearly identical to those of HTLV-1-infected individuals. In some cases, STLV-1 are, sequence-wise, indistinguishable from HTLV-1, and cannot be separated from them on the basis of phylogenetic analyses. HTLV-2-related simian viruses have been rarely reported. Such STLV-2 viruses, present in African bonobo (Pan paniscus), possess a genomic organization related to but different from all known HTLV-2 subtypes. We report here the molecular characterization and the subtyping of a new STLV-1 in a wild-caught baboon (Papio anubis) whose serum exhibited an indeterminate STLV-2-like serology (p24, GD21, MTA-1 with no p19). In the env and LTR regions, this virus is phylogenetically related to the large African STLV-1 group, but does not cluster with any STLV-1 baboon sequence. The complete p19 sequence reveals amino acid changes at critical positions. This is the first report of an African STLV-1 virus leading to an STLV-2-like serological profile in its host.

Evolutionary inferences of novel STLV-I from wild caught baboons (Papio ursinus and Papio anubis)

Evolutionary inferences of novel STLV-I from wild caught baboons (Papio ursinus and Papio anubis)

What is the situation of human T cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) in Africa? Origin and dissemination of genomic subtypes.

Human T cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) and its two genomic subtypes, A and B, which differ by 3 to 6% at the nucleotide level (depending on the gene studied), were until recently considered to be endemic only in certain Indian tribes in the Americas and were therefore considered mainly as a "New World virus." First, the evidence of HTLV-II antibodies and later characterization of isolates from sex workers or individuals living in large West and Central African cities suggested that HTLV-II subtype A could have been imported recently in Africa. However, the findings of HTLV-II infection in two Pygmy populations living in remote areas of Zaire and Cameroon suggest that HTLV-II might have been in Africa for a very long time. Furthermore, the discovery of HTLV-II subtype B virus in some of these Pygmies, but also in other individuals from Zaire and within a family in Gabon for three generations, confirms the hypothesis of a very ancient presence of this HTLV-II subtype B on the African continent Recent data indicate also that there exist in Central Africa specific HTLV-II divergent strains including an HTLV-II B variant strain in Gabon. In the context of recent evidence for interspecies transmission in Central and West Africa of HTLV-I/simian T cell lymphotropic virus type I (STLV-I) strains, leading to the two major HTLV-I African subtypes, we would like to suggest that some STLV-II (closely related to HTLV-II subtype B) still exist or might have existed in Central/East Africa. The recent finding of quite divergent primate T cell lymphotropic viruses (PTLVs) in several Pygmy chimpanzees of Zairian origin (PTLV-PP1664 and STLV-PP) and in wild-caught baboons in Eritrea, Ethiopia (PTLV-L), also supports the complementary hypothesis of a yet to be discovered new HTLV-II-related virus in humans. Careful study of the indeterminate Western blot patterns present in some populations in Central Africa strongly suggests that such an exciting possibility exists, thus opening new avenues of research on both the history of primate retroviruses and that of early human groups.

A primate T-lymphotropic virus, PTLV-L, different from human T-lymphotropic viruses types I and II, in a wild-caught baboon (Papio hamadryas).

Searching for clues to the evolution of the primate T-lymphotropic viruses (PTLVs), which include the human and the simian T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV and STLV), we have identified another PTLV, which differs sufficiently from the known PTLV-I and PTLV-II types to be designated here PTLV-L. The virus was isolated from a wild-born baboon (Papio hamadryas) from Eritrea. In a cDNA library a 1802-bp-long fragment was identified that extends from the env region, including the complete transmembrane protein gene, to part of the tax/rex gene. Homologies at the nucleotide sequence level of PTLV-L, prototype simian T-lymphotropic virus-PH969, with HTLV-I and -II, respectively, were 62% and 64% overall, 65% and 70% in the env region, and 80% and 80% in the partial tax/rex sequence. In the 5' part of the pX region a significant homology was seen only with HTLV-II (52%). Phylogenetic analysis based on the gene encoding the transmembrane protein indicates that PTLV-L represents a PTLV type with a long independent evolution, longer than any strain within the PTLV-I or PTLV-II groups. The finding of another PTLV type in African baboons is further evidence of the wide variety of PTLV found on this continent. Whether PTLV-L resembles PTLV-I and PTLV-II in the extension of its host range to other primates, including humans, remains to be seen.

Competitive radioimmunoassay to detect antibodies to herpes B virus and SA8 virus

A monoclonal competitive radioimmunoassay (CompRIAm) which detects antibody to herpesvirus simiae (B virus) in monkey and human sera and antibody to SA8 virus in monkey sera but not antibody to herpes simplex virus in human sera is described. Of 232 serum samples from wild-caught cynomolgus monkeys, 117 serum samples were positive when tested by CompRIAm. The results were in close agreement (97.5%) with B virus neutralizing antibody results on the same sera. Sera from 97 wild-caught rhesus monkeys and 92 wild-caught baboons were also tested. The CompRIAm was able to differentiate between sera that had neutralizing antibody to B virus and SA8 virus and those that did not, although the discrimination was not as clear as that in the tests on cynomolgus monkey sera. Sequential sera from two humans with confirmed cases of B virus infection were tested by CompRIAm. B virus antibody was detected in sera from both humans. None of 237 other serum samples from blood donors and patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics reacted in the CompRIAm.

Detection of serum antibodies in Ethiopian baboons that cross‐react with SIV, HTLV‐I, and type D retroviral antigens

Baboons (Papio cynocephalus) imported from Ethiopia were screened for antibodies to various primate retroviruses by immunoblotting. Antibodies that cross-reacted with SIV/Mne or with type D viral antigens were detected in approximately one-third of these animals. In addition, 20% of these baboons had antibodies that cross-reacted with HTLV-I viral antigens. These data suggest that wild-caught baboons are infected with retroviruses only partially related to known primate viral isolates.

Characterization of a new polyomavirus (Polyomavirus papionis-2) isolated from baboon kidney cell cultures

Viruses with papovavirus morphology were seen in fluids from baboon kidney cell cultures on three separate occasions (isolates A, B, and C). The size of the virions, 47.9 nm, placed the virus in the polyomavirus genus. It grew well in baboon kidney and Vero cells and less well in human embryo lung (HEL) fibroblasts. The virus could not be identified as the previously described baboon polyomavirus, SA 12, or as any of the other known primate polyomaviruses BK, JC or SV 40, the non-primate viruses mouse polyoma, K, rabbit kidney vacuolating virus (RKV) or bovine polyomavirus (FRKV) by immunofluorescence, immune electron microscopy or hemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests. A rabbit antiserum to the new virus (isolate A) reacted only with the three isolates and not with the other primate polyomaviruses studied. Thirteen percent of 118 wild-caught baboons (Papio anubis) had HI antibody to the new polyomavirus and 21 percent were seropositive for SA 12; only two baboons had antibody to both viruses. These results suggest that in baboons there are two antigenically distinct polyomaviruses which circulate independently. The two viruses may also be distinguished by their hemagglutinating properties: SA 12 agglutinated erythrocytes from a wider range of species but only the newly recognized polyomavirus agglutinated baboon erythrocytes. We propose that the two baboon viruses, SA 12 and the new virus, should be named Polyomavirus papionis-1 and Polyomavirus papionis-2 respectively.