Abstract

The long-term therapeutic and toxic effects of 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine (PMPA) were evaluated in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected newborn rhesus macaques. Four untreated SIV-infected newborn macaques developed persistently high levels of viremia, and three of the four animals had rapidly fatal disease within 3 months. In contrast, long-term PMPA treatment of four newborn macaques starting 3 weeks after virus inoculation resulted in a rapid, pronounced, and persistent reduction of viremia in three of the four animals. Emergence of virus with fivefold-decreased susceptibility to PMPA occurred in all four PMPA-treated animals and was associated with the development of a lysine-to-arginine substitution at amino acid 65 (K65R mutation) and additional mutations in the reverse transcriptase; however, the clinical implications of this low-level drug resistance are nuclear. No toxic side effects have been seen, and all PMPA-treated animals have remained disease-free for more than 13 months. Our data suggest that PMPA holds much promise for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus-infected human infants and adults.