Small ruminant lentivirus Tat protein induces apoptosis in caprine cells in vitro by the intrinsic pathway.

The small ruminant lentiviruses, caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) and maedi visna virus (MVV) naturally cause inflammatory disease in goats and sheep, provoking chronic lesions in several different organs. We have previously demonstrated that in vitro infection of caprine cells by CAEV induces apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway (Rea-Boutrois, A., Pontini, G.

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus induces apoptosis in infected cells in vitro through the intrinsic pathway.

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) is a lentivirus that causes natural inflammatory disease in goats, with chronic lesions in several different organs. CAEV infection of in vitro cultured cells is accompanied by apoptosis, but the involvement of the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways has not previously been elucidated. We have studied the activation of caspases-3, -8 and -9 by fluorescent assays in various goat cells infected in vitro by CAEV, and the effects of transfected dominant negative variants of theses caspases, to show that CAEV-associated apoptosis depends on activation of caspases-3 and -9, but not -8.

Routes of transmission and consequences of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) infection and eradication schemes.

Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV = maedi-visna in sheep and caprine arthritis encephalitis in goats) are distributed throughout most countries of the world, particularly Europe. Laboratories from 16 European countries established collaborations within the framework of a COST (CO-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) action sponsored by the European Union in order to (i) better organize their research programmes on SRLVs and (ii) to coordinate efforts to combat these two diseases. After five years, a consensus conference--the first one in the veterinary medicine field--concluded the work of this network of laboratories by reviewing the present position and discussing three important questions in the field of SRLVs: routes of transmission, consequences of infection and potential role of eradication programmes at either a European or local level, according to the situation in each country or region.