April 7, 2012 • Posted in Fact Sheets and More
The amount of federal dollars funding protocols on HIV/AIDS research using chimpanzees declined to the point of nearly non-existence in comparison with other areas of HIV/AIDS research.
The 2008 research protocols listed below primarily involve the use of biological samples from chimpanzees (i.e. cells, tissues, blood, and/or serum) versus using chimpanzees as a complete model for HIV; to our knowledge, neither the Wistar Institute nor the universities listed house chimpanzees onsite. The chimpanzee samples used are likely obtained through a cooperative arrangement with a facility housing chimpanzees.
| Researcher: | ERTL, HILDEGUND C. J. |
| Grant No. | 5U19AI074078-02 |
| Project: | HIV-1 Vaccine Based on Chimp Serotypes of Adenovirus |
| Institution: | WISTAR INSTITUTE |
| Project runs: | Sept. 1, 2007 – Aug. 31, 2012 |
| Funding: | $5,630,858 ($2,861,413 for 2008) |
| Researcher: | BIBOLLET-RUCHE, FREDERIC |
| Grant No. | 1R21AI080364-01 |
| Project: | The Role of Matrix Cofactors in SIVcpz Replication |
| Institution: | UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM |
| Project runs: | Sept. 24, 2008 – Aug. 31, 2010 |
| Funding: | $206,250 |
| Researcher: | HAHN, BEATRICE H |
| Grant No. | 2R37AI050529-06A1 |
| Project: | Natural SIV Reservoirs and Human Zoonotic Risk |
| Institution: | UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM |
| Project runs: | Aug. 1, 2008 – Jan. 31, 2013 |
| Funding: | $943,200 ($481,289 for 2008) |
| Researcher: | ZHAO, RICHARD YUQI |
| Grant No. | 1R21NS063880-01 |
| Project: | Fission Yeast as a HTS Platform for New Molecular Probes of HIV-1 VPR-Medicated A |
| Institution: | UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE |
| Project runs: | June 15, 2008 – May 31, 2009 |
| Funding: | $150,000 |
| Researcher: | MURTHY, KRISHNA |
| Grant No. | 2P51RR013986-060186 |
| Project: | HIV-1 Adenovirus-Based Vaccine Study in Chimpanzees |
| Institution: | Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio |
| Project runs: | May 1, 2004 - April 30, 2005 |
| Funding: | $6,004,828 * for 2P51RR013986-06 |
No abstract was available for the 2005 grant above. The following excerpt was taken from a paper published by Krishna Murthy, Harvey Alter and others:
“…chimpanzee (X034) was inoculated with 38 median tissue culture infective doses of HIV-1 IIIB; serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained one to two times per week for 12 weeks and then biweekly for 12 weeks. … RESULTS: No HIV markers were noted until 5 weeks after inoculation, at which time virus was isolated and HIV RNA and DNA were detected in plasma and cells, respectively. … Plasma and cells obtained from Chimpanzee X034 3 or 4 weeks after exposure were then sequentially inoculated into a second chimpanzee (X176); no HIV infection was observed in this animal during serial follow-up for 24 weeks after each inoculation. In contrast, when the fifth-week HIV-1 RNA- and DNA-positive sample was inoculated, Chimpanzee X176 was unequivocally infected with HIV-1.” (1)
* This research study is part of a larger project and the amount indicated is for the entire project, not this single grant.
Sources
Grant information is from the NIH Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) database and funding amounts are obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS).
(1) Murthy KK, Henrard DR, Eichberg JW, Cobb KE, Busch MP, Allain JP, Alter HJ. Redefining the HIV-infectious window period in the chimpanzee model: evidence to suggest that viral nucleic acid testing can prevent blood-borne transmission. Transfusion. 1999 Jul;39(7):688-93.