Apoptosis and CD8-down-regulation in the thymus of chickens infected with Marek's disease virus |
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Authors: | T. Morimura K. Ohashi Y. Kon M. Hattori C. Sugimoto M. Onuma |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan;(2) Department of Immunology and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan |
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Abstract: | Summary Marek's disease virus (MDV)-infected chickens show thymic atrophy during the acute phase of infection. We examined whether the thymic atrophy by MDV-infection was mediated by apoptosis. Apoptosis-specific DNA ladderings were clearly observed in thymocytes one week after MDV-infection. Histological and flow cytometry studies revealed that immature CD4+CD8+ thymocytes underwent apototic cell death. In addition, the expression level of CD8 molecules on both CD4–CD8+ and CD4+CD8+ thymocyte populations was down-regulated in the infected chickens. These thymic changes might be involved in the pathogenesis of Marek's disease. |
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