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Gene expression in visna virus infection in sheep

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Abstract

Visna is a slow degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) of sheep caused by a nontumorigenic retrovirus1. During the course of this disease, visna virus establishes a persistent infection of the CNS, lung and haematopoietic system, despite a specific humoral and cellular immune response. We have studied visna virus life cycle at the single-cell level in choroid plexus of experimentally infected animals, using a very sensitive and quantitative in situ hybridization assay2. We report here that although proviral DNA is synthesized in significant amounts, its expression is blocked at the transcriptional level. This restriction of proviral DNA transcription offers an explanation for the slowness of the disease and the persistence of the infection.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Administration Medical Center and Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94121, USA

    Michel Brahic, Linda Stowring, Peter Ventura & Ashley T. Haase

Authors
  1. Michel Brahic
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  2. Linda Stowring
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  3. Peter Ventura
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  4. Ashley T. Haase
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Brahic, M., Stowring, L., Ventura, P. et al. Gene expression in visna virus infection in sheep. Nature 292, 240–242 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/292240a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/292240a0

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