Dairy Cows Naturally Infected with Bovine Leukemia Virus Exhibit Abnormal B- and T-Cell Phenotypes after Primary and Secondary Exposures to Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin.

ABSTRACT: Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a retrovirus that is highly prevalent in US dairy herds: over 83% are BLV infected and the within-herd infection rate can be almost 50% on average. While BLV is known to cause lymphosarcomas, only 5% or fewer infected cattle will develop lymphoma; this low prevalence of cancer has historically not been a concern to dairy producers. However, more recent research has found that BLV⁺ cows without lymphoma produce less milk and have shorter lifespans than uninfected herdmates. It has been hypothesized that BLV infection interferes with normal immune function in infected cattle, and this could lead to reduced dairy production. To assess how naturally infected BLV⁺ cows responded to a primary and secondary immune challenge, 10 BLV⁺

SUBMITTER: Frie MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5509956 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature