Of mice, macaques and men: scaling of virus dynamics and immune responses

In this Opinion piece, I argue that the dynamics of viruses and the cellular immune response depend on the body size of the host. I use allometric scaling theory to interpret observed quantitative differences in the infection dynamics of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) in mice ( Mus musculus ), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in humans. There are indications that viral replication and the proliferation of CD8+ T cell responses are slower in larger animals. Whether this influences the ability of the cellular immune responses to eradicate viruses during the acute phase of an infection remains unclear, however.