Use of transgenic animals to study human retroviruses

The purpose of transgenic technology is to introduce a gene into the germline of an animal in order to investigate its proper expression in the appropriate cell types and its effect on cellular functions. This technology has been used to explore a wide variety of genetic and biological issues including stage- and tissue-specific gene expression, development, immunology, oncology, and gene therapy [1-3]. The intent of this article is to discuss the value of gene transfer technology for the study of mechanisms of viral pathogenesis. We will focus mainly on our experience with two experimental systems involving human T-lymphotropic virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) and human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 (HIV-1).