Apoptosis and CD8-down-regulation in the thymus of chickens infected with Marek's disease virus.
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.
Morimura
T
T
Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Ohashi
K
K
Kon
Y
Y
Hattori
M
M
Sugimoto
C
C
Onuma
M
M
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001284:Atrophy; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D002645:Chickens; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D008380:Marek Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*
D016827:CD8 Antigens