Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 2-Kilobase Latency-Associated Transcript Intron Associates with Ribosomal Proteins and Splicing Factors

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Abstract
Rhesus macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) containing either a large nef deletion (SIVmac239Δ152nef) or interleukin-2 in place ofnef developed high virus loads and progressed to simian AIDS. Viruses recovered from both juvenile and neonatal macaques with disease produced a novel truncated Nef protein, tNef. Viruses recovered from juvenile macaques infected with serially passaged virus expressing tNef exhibited a pathogenic phenotype. These findings demonstrated strong selective pressure to restore expression of a truncated Nef protein, and this reversion was linked to increased pathogenic potential in live attenuated SIV vaccines.