Pathogenesis of Reticuloendotheliosis Virus Infection in Ducks

Abstract

A new isolate of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) from ducks, RU-1, was used to experimentally infect white pekin ducks. Embryonal or neonatal infection usually resulted in persistent viremias, no REV antibody development, and inability to mount antibody responses against bovine serum albumin (BSA) or sheep red blood cells (SRBC). In contrast, infection at 21 days of age resulted in transient viremias, which terminated coincident with REV antibody development. These ducks remained persistently infected, however, based on virus isolations from peripheral blood lymphocytes. Ducks infected at that age were immunologically competent against BSA and SRBC unless they had been embryonally bursectomized, in which case they behaved virologically and immunologically like those infected at an early age. Bursectomy by itself did not prevent responses against the antigens. Total mortality during 4- or 6-month experimental periods ranged from 80 to 100% in REV-infected groups, regardless of age at infection, route of exposure, or whether the ducks were intact or bursectomized. Most deaths were from non-neoplastic conditions (stunting, bacterial infections), but 17 of 69 (25%) infected ducks developed a variety of neoplasms, including lymphosarcomas, histiocytic sarcomas, and spindle-cell sarcomas.

The Extraordinary Evolutionary History of the Reticuloendotheliosis Viruses

“…A study a few years later confirmed the presence of an additional “filterable agent”—the cause of a lethal anemia—in P. lophurae –infected poultry [30], and in 1959 William Trager identified this agent as SNV [28]. Subsequently, SNV-like viruses were isolated from P. lophurae –infected ducks on multiple distinct occasions (Table 2) [1],[31. The role of P. lophurae stocks as a source of infection appears to have gone unappreciated prior to the isolation of DIAV in 1972 [29].…”

Duck lymphocytes. VIII. T-lymphoblastoid cell lines from reticuloendotheliosis virus-induced tumours

“…It is surprising that natural infection of ducks (e.g. Li et al, 1983) is reported so rarely, presumably a re¯ection of the inef® ciency of horizontal transmission. Using cells taken from organs of ducks infected with REV-T we have been able to establish lymphoblastoid cell lines.…”

Detection of reticuloendotheliosis virus by immunohistochemistry andin situhybridization in experimentally infected Japanese quail embryos and archived formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumours

“…Unstained sections were heated at 608C for 15 min and deparaffinized in Hemo-De (PMP Medical Industries) for 20 Isolated from a duck and provided by Dr K. A. Schat (see Li et al, 1983). b Isolated from frozen turkey tissue (see Crespo et al, 2002).…”