title: Association of jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus with pulmonary carcinoma in Sardinian moufflon (Ovis musimon).
abstract: Bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma has been described in man and in several animal species, including cattle, dogs, opossums, goats and sheep. In sheep, a bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma, known as ovine pulmonary carcinoma (OPC), is caused by jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), an exogenous type D retrovirus. In the mid-1980s, a severe outbreak of a disease resembling OPC was described in captive Sardinian moufflon (Ovis musimon). In the present study, the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of nucleic acids extracted from archival material established that JSRV was associated with OPC in affected moufflon. JSRV was detected in the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes. Immunohistochemical and in-situ PCR demonstrated that in the lungs, JSRV proviral DNA was localized in transformed and untransformed type II pneumocytes and in the alveolar macrophages. In the mediastinal lymph nodes, JSRV DNA was mainly located in the cortical follicles and paracortex. These data suggest that JSRV is the cause of OPC in Sardinian moufflon, as it is in Sardinian sheep.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Patologia Generale, Anatomia Patologica e Clinica Ostetrico-Chirurgica Veterinaria, Facoltà di Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Las Heras
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leoni
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nieddu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pirino
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palmarini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000662:veterinary; D007558:Italy; D022141:Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016676:Macrophages, Alveolar / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011648:Pulmonary Adenomatosis, Ovine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D011817:Rabbits; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral