Eva-Maria Ratai1,2, Sarah Pilkenton1,2, Jeffrey Bombardier1, Chan-Gyu Joo1,2, Katherine W. Turk1, Margaret R. Lentz1,2, Julian He1,2, Lakshman Annamalai2,3, Shawn O' Neil2,3, Susan V. Westmoreland2,3, Tricia H. Burdo4, Jennifer H. Campbell4, Caroline Soulas4, Patrick Autissier4, Woong-Ki Kim5, Kenneth Williams4, R. Gilberto Gonzalez1,2
1Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital - A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, USA; 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; 3New England Regional Primate Research Center, Southborough, MA, USA; 4Biology Department, Boston College, Boston, MA, USA; 5Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
SIV infection followed by CD8 lymphocyte depletion produces rapidly progressing neuro-AIDS that is characterized by consistently declining levels of N-acetyl-aspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr). This model makes possible the definitive testing of neuroprotective drugs within 3 months in as few as 4 animals. However, it remains unknown whether CD8+ depletion alone has an effect on cerebral metabolism. To answer this question, four rhesus macaques were examined by 7T 1H MR spectroscopy before and biweekly after CD8 depletion for 8 weeks. Data were compared to SIV infected CD8 depleted animals and revealed that CD8 depletion alone has no effect on brain metabolite concentrations.