[The use of the polymerase chain reaction in modelling HIV infection in animals].

The data on observations, lasting over the period of 6 months, on cotton rats given large doses of highly replicating strain HIV-1zmb by retrobulbar and intraperitoneal injections are presented. The study revealed that in all animals subjected to intraperitoneal infection lymphoid tissue contained integrated areas of protovirus DNA of HIV-1 three months later and cerebral tissue, five months later. Six months after retrobulbar infection the specimens of lymphoid tissue contained protovirus DNA in 100% of cases and the specimens of cerebral tissue, in 80% of cases.

[Morphological characteristics of the course of HIV infection in laboratory animals].

The integrative form of infection was obtained in cotton rats intraperitoneally or retrobulbarly infected with the highly-productive strain Zmb HIV-1. Clinically, it appeared as reduced animal weight gain and high mortality rates in the disease terminal stage. The proviral DNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction in the genomes of cerebral and splenic cells in most animals.