INVESTIGATION OF THE CELLULAR TROPISM OF BOVINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY-LIKEVIRUS

Bovine immunodeficiency-like virus (BIV) was first isolated from an an imal showing transient leucocytosis, lymphadenopathy, lesions in the c entral nervous system and progressive weakness and emaciation. Similar signs are observed in other immunosuppressive lentiviral infections. BN, like other lentiviruses, has been isolated from peripheral blood m ononuclear cells and lymphoid tissue of infected animals. However, the in vivo cellular tropism of BIV remains unclear although initial stud ies indicate that BIV may be pantropic, infecting T cells, B cells and monocytes similar to some of the immunodeficiency-causing lentiviruse s. PCR, Southern blot hybridisation, cell culture and reverse transcri ptase assays were used to demonstrate the presence of BIV proviral DNA and the production of infectious virus in CD2(+), WCl+, B cells and m onocytes during the acute stages of infection. Western immunoblot assa ys were used to assess the development of antibody responses towards t he virus.