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Vacuolar myelopathy in transgenic mice expressing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 proteins under the regulation of the myelin basic protein gene promoter

Nature Medicine volume 2, pages 655–661 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

Vacuolar myelopathy is a common neurological complication in AIDS patients. The pathogenesis of this spinal cord white matter disease remains unclear and it is still debated whether infection of spinal cord with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV–1) is causing the disease. We have generated transgenic mice expressing the entire HIV–1 genome under the regulation of an oligodendrocyte–specific promoter. These mice develop spinal cord vacuolar lesions similar to those found in AIDS patients. This animal model provides in vivo evidence linking the expression of HIV–1 proteins in oligodendrocytes to the spinal cord damage found in vacuolar myelopathy.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Stirling Carpenter

    Present address: Division of Neuropathology, Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2S8

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, 110 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H2W 1R7

    Guy Goudreau, Normand Beaulieu & Paul Jolicoeur

  2. Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 2B4

    Stirling Carpenter

  3. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3C 3J7

    Paul Jolicoeur

  4. Department of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1A4

    Paul Jolicoeur

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  2. Stirling Carpenter
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  3. Normand Beaulieu
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  4. Paul Jolicoeur
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Goudreau, G., Carpenter, S., Beaulieu, N. et al. Vacuolar myelopathy in transgenic mice expressing human immunodeficiency virus type 1 proteins under the regulation of the myelin basic protein gene promoter. Nat Med 2, 655–661 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0696-655

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0696-655

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