Systems analysis of immune responses in Marek's disease virus-infected chickens identifies a gene involved in susceptibility and highlights a possible novel pathogenicity mechanism.

ABSTRACT: Marek's disease virus (MDV) is a highly contagious oncogenic alphaherpesvirus that causes disease that is both a cancer model and a continuing threat to the world's poultry industry. This comprehensive gene expression study analyzes the host response to infection in both resistant and susceptible lines of chickens and inherent expression differences between the two lines following the infection of the host. A novel pathogenicity mechanism, involving the downregulation of genes containing HIC1 transcription factor binding sites as early as 4 days postinfection, was suggested from this analysis. HIC1 drives antitumor mechanisms, suggesting that MDV infection switches off genes involved in antitumor regulation several days before the expression of the MDV oncogene meq. The comparison of the g

SUBMITTER: Smith J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3194948 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature