Molecular dissection of the bovine leukemia virus envelope glycoprotein (BLV gp51) by a monoclonal antibody study.

Neoplasms of the lymphatic tissue in the bovine species can be classified into two major types according to clinical and epidemiological data: 1. The juvenile form of bovine leukosis, with three different clinical forms: the multicentric, thymic, and cutaneous forms. The juvenile form is rare and shows a random geographical distribution. It has also been called sporadic bovine leukosis. 2. The adult form of bovine leukosis leads to more diversely located lymphosarcomas, mostly of the B-lymphocyte lineage and/or to B-cell leukemias. The adult form of bovine leukosis is more common, but restricted to geographically limited regions. Although it affects only a small percentage of the cattle population, it behaves as a typical herd disease. Its distribution Pattern is typically one of transmissible diseases and has allowed the classification of the adult form of lymphosarcomas as "enzootic bovine leukosis" [I]. In 1969 Miller et al. identified viral particles in short-term cultures of leukocytes of animals in persistent lymphocytosis [2]. Transmission experiments [3] and seroepidemiological studies [4] finally established that this virus is an etiological agent of enzootic bovine leukosis. This virus, called bovine leukemia virus (BLV), can be experimentally transmitted to sheep,