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Leucosis is a leukemia-like malignant viral disease that is found in animals, particularly poultry and cattle.
| This article needs more medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary sources .(September 2017) | |
Leucosis is a leukemia-like malignant viral disease that is found in animals, particularly poultry and cattle.
A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. Once inside the host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome, the reverse of the usual pattern, thus retro (backwards). The new DNA is then incorporated into the host cell genome by an integrase enzyme, at which point the retroviral DNA is referred to as a provirus. The host cell then treats the viral DNA as part of its own genome, transcribing and translating the viral genes along with the cell's own genes, producing the proteins required to assemble new copies of the virus.
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus that infects cats. FeLV can be transmitted from infected cats when the transfer of saliva or nasal secretions is involved. If not defeated by the animal's immune system, the virus weakens the cat's immune system, which can lead to diseases which can be lethal. Because FeLV is cat-to-cat contagious, FeLV+ cats should only live with other FeLV+ cats.
An oncovirus or oncogenic virus is a virus that can cause cancer. This term originated from studies of acutely transforming retroviruses in the 1950–60s, when the term "oncornaviruses" was used to denote their RNA virus origin. With the letters "RNA" removed, it now refers to any virus with a DNA or RNA genome causing cancer and is synonymous with "tumor virus" or "cancer virus". The vast majority of human and animal viruses do not cause cancer, probably because of longstanding co-evolution between the virus and its host. Oncoviruses have been important not only in epidemiology, but also in investigations of cell cycle control mechanisms such as the retinoblastoma protein.
Poultry diseases occur in poultry, which are domesticated birds kept for their meat, eggs or feathers. Poultry species include the chicken, turkey, duck, goose and ostrich.
Marek's disease is a highly contagious viral neoplastic disease in chickens. It is named after József Marek, a Hungarian veterinarian who described it in 1907. Marek's disease is caused by an alphaherpesvirus known as "Marek's disease virus" (MDV) or Gallid alphaherpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2). The disease is characterized by the presence of T cell lymphoma as well as infiltration of nerves and organs by lymphocytes. Viruses related to MDV appear to be benign and can be used as vaccine strains to prevent Marek's disease. For example, the related herpesvirus found in turkeys (HVT), causes no apparent disease in the birds, and continues to be used as a vaccine strain for prevention of Marek's disease.
Alpharetrovirus is a genus of the family Retroviridae. It has type C morphology. Members can cause sarcomas, other tumors, and anaemia of wild and domestic birds and also affect rats.
Gammaretrovirus is a genus in the Retroviridae family. Example species are the murine leukemia virus and the feline leukemia virus. They cause various sarcomas, leukemias and immune deficiencies in mammals, reptiles and birds.
Lymphoid leucosis is a disease that affects chickens, caused by the retrovirus Avian leukosis virus.
Env is a viral gene that encodes the protein forming the viral envelope. The expression of the env gene enables retroviruses to target and attach to specific cell types, and to infiltrate the target cell membrane.
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a retrovirus which causes enzootic bovine leukosis in cattle. It is closely related to the human T‑lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I). BLV may integrate into the genomic DNA of B‑lymphocytes as a DNA intermediate, or exist as unintegrated circular or linear forms. Besides structural and enzymatic genes required for virion production, BLV contains an oncogene coding for a protein called Tax and expresses microRNAs of unknown function. In cattle, most infected animals are asymptomatic; leukemia is rare, but lymphoproliferation is more frequent (30%).
Veterinary virology is the study of viruses in non-human animals. It is an important branch of veterinary medicine.
Avian sarcoma leukosis virus (ASLV) is an endogenous retrovirus that infects and can lead to cancer in chickens; experimentally it can infect other species of birds and mammals. ASLV replicates in chicken embryo fibroblasts, the cells that contribute to the formation of connective tissues. Different forms of the disease exist, including lymphoblastic, erythroblastic, and osteopetrotic.
Viral arthritis is an infectious disease in poultry, such as chickens and turkeys, caused by Avian reovirus. Arthritis and tenosynovitis are the main signs of Avian reovirus infection in chickens, although the virus can cause other signs.
Retroviral matrix proteins are components of envelope-associated capsids of retroviruses. These proteins line the inner surface of viral envelopes and are associated with viral membranes.
Peter K. Vogt is an American molecular biologist, virologist and geneticist. His research focuses on retroviruses and viral and cellular oncogenes.
Reticuloendotheliosis (RE) designates a group of pathologic syndromes caused by the reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) group of avian retroviruses. The disease syndromes associated with REV include 1) a runting disease syndrome, 2) chronic neoplasia of lymphoid and other tissues, and 3) acute reticulum cell neoplasia.
Sandra L. Quackenbush is an American virologist working as an Associate Professor of Retrovirology at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Quackenbush also serves as the Associate Head of Graduate Education for the Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology Department within the college. Her research interests include viral pathogenesis, with emphasis in viral-induced oncogenesis.
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