Small animal model of HIV-1 infection.

Background: The lack convenient and inexpensive small animal model of HIV infection hampers significantly the research on immunopathogenesis, antiviral drugs, and vaccines.

Objectives: Development of HIV model in small animals, i.e.

Structural and functional changes of blood-brain barrier and indication of prion amyloid filaments in experimental amyotrophic leucospongiosis.

The reproduction of amyotrophic leukospongiosis (AL) agent in the central nervous system (CNS) of guinea pigs was accompanied by local disturbance of blood-brain barrier (BBB), which manifested in passing of horseradish peroxidase through the endothelium of some of capillaries (10-14%). The disturbance of BBB function coincided with dystrophic changes in a number of pericapillary astrocyte foot processes and in pericytes. In the walls of altered vessels we observed congophilic (amyloid) deposits, which formed immunocomplexes with monoclonal antibodies to the AL agent protein PrP 27-30 kD.