The vif gene of maedi-visna virus is essential for infectivity in vivo and in vitro.

Simultaneous mutations in CA and Vif of Maedi-Visna virus cause attenuated replication in macrophages and reduced infectivity in vivo.

Maedi-visna virus (MVV) is a lentivirus of sheep sharing several key features with the primate lentiviruses. The virus causes slowly progressive diseases, mainly in the lungs and the central nervous system of sheep. Here, we investigate the molecular basis for the differential growth phenotypes of two MVV isolates. One of the isolates, KV1772, replicates well in a number of cell lines and is hi...

Construction and characterization of an infectious molecular clone of maedi-visna virus that expresses green fluorescent protein.

The construction of a molecular clone of maedi-visna virus (MVV) expressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) is described. The egfp gene was inserted into the gene for dUTPase since it has been shown that dUTPase is dispensable for MVV replication both in vitro and in vivo. MVV-egfp is infectious and EGFP expression is stable over at least six passages. This fluorescent virus will ...

Host range of small-ruminant lentivirus cytopathic variants determined with a selectable caprine arthritis- encephalitis virus pseudotype system.

The small-ruminant lentiviruses ovine maedi-visna virus (MVV) and caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) cause encephalitis, progressive pneumonia, arthritis, and mastitis in sheep and goats. Icelandic MVV strains, which are lytic in tissue culture, have a wide species distribution of functional receptors, which includes human cells. In contrast, functional receptors for the nonlytic CAEV ...

[Oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in the experimental interstitial lung disease induced in sheep by visna-maedi virus].

Infection of sheep by visna-maedi virus causes an interstitial pneumonitis similar to that associated with human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1). Visna-maedi virus infection of alveolar macrophages leads to their activation. In this study we determined whether an imbalance in oxidant-antioxidant activity may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. We investigated the spontaneous a...

Serological study of Maedi-Visna virus among sheep flocks in Kerman province of Iran