Persistent infection of rabbits with bovine leukemia virus associated with development of immune dysfunction

C R Wyatt; D Wingett; J S White; C D Buck; D Knowles; R Reeves; N S Magnuson

doi:10.1128/JVI.63.11.4498-4506.1989

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Persistent infection of rabbits with bovine leukemia virus associated with development of immune dysfunction

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Persistent infection of rabbits with bovine leukemia virus associated with development of immune dysfunction

C R Wyatt, D Wingett, J S White, C D Buck, D Knowles, R Reeves and N S Magnuson

Journal of virology, Vol.63(11), pp.4498-4506

11/1989

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.63.11.4498-4506.1989

Handle:

https://hdl.handle.net/2376/113459

PMCID: PMC251080

PMID: 2552135

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https://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.63.11.4498-4506.1989View

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Abstract

Rabbits

Leukemia Virus, Bovine - genetics

Lymphocyte Activation

Leukemia Virus, Bovine - pathogenicity

Male

Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes - microbiology

Blotting, Northern

Animals

Gene Amplification

Lymphocytes - immunology

Retroviridae - genetics

Lymphocytes - drug effects

Genes, Viral

Interleukin-2 - pharmacology

Female

DNA, Viral - genetics

Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes - immunology

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection of rabbits provides a safe and relatively inexpensive in vivo mammalian system for the study of the mechanisms controlling expression of a unique group of lymphotropic retroviruses. This group of viruses, which includes C-type human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II and lentiviruslike human immunodeficiency virus type 1, possesses genes coding for "trans-activating" products. Rabbits experimentally inoculated with BLV became persistently infected, as demonstrated by a number of tests. All BLV-inoculated rabbits developed persistent serum antibody to BLV. Furthermore, all BLV-inoculated rabbits had peripheral blood mononuclear cells which, when stimulated, expressed the virus, as demonstrated by viral induction of syncytium formation in a BLV-susceptible fibroblast line. The presence of BLV in circulating cells was confirmed by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from randomly selected BLV-inoculated rabbits, which showed the presence of viral reverse transcriptase activity, BLV transcriptional activity, or BLV proviral DNA. Additional tests showed that infected lymphocytes maintained in culture with recombinant human interleukin-2 formed multinucleated giant cells and produced virus when incubated in cytokine-containing medium. BLV-infected rabbits also showed alterations in several parameters associated with immunity, beginning 6 months after inoculation. Thirty-eight percent of infected rabbits developed abnormally low T-cell responses, as measured by phytolectin stimulation, and T-cell responses cycled between normal and abnormally low over a period of 20 to 24 months. Forty-four percent of rabbits infected for longer than 12 months suffered from recurrent conjunctivitis and rhinitis. By 24 months postinoculation, 28% of infected rabbits were dead or were killed because of poor clinical condition.

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Title: Persistent infection of rabbits with bovine leukemia virus associated with development of immune dysfunction
Creators: C R Wyatt - Department of Microbiology, Washington State University, Pullman 99164-4340
D Wingett
J S White
C D Buck
D Knowles
R Reeves
N S Magnuson
Publication Details: Journal of virology, Vol.63(11), pp.4498-4506
Academic Unit: Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Department of; Molecular Biosciences, School of
Publisher: United States
Grant note: AI 26356 / NIAID NIH HHS
Identifiers: 99900547511301842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article