title: Experimental Transmission of Bighorn Sheep Sinus Tumors to Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) and Domestic Sheep.
abstract: Bighorn sheep sinus tumors are a recently described disease affecting the paranasal sinuses of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis). Several features of this disease suggest an infectious cause, although a specific etiologic agent has not been identified. To test the hypothesis that bighorn sheep sinus tumors are caused by an infectious agent, we inoculated 4 bighorn sheep lambs and 4 domestic sheep lambs intranasally with a cell-free filtrate derived from a naturally occurring bighorn sheep sinus tumor; we held 1 individual of each species as a control. Within 18 months after inoculation, all 4 inoculated domestic sheep (100%) and 1 of the 4 inoculated bighorn sheep (25%) developed tumors within the ethmoid sinuses or nasal conchae, with features similar to naturally occurring bighorn sheep sinus tumors. Neither of the uninoculated sheep developed tumors. Histologically, the experimentally transmitted tumors were composed of stellate to spindle cells embedded within a myxoid matrix, with marked bone production. Tumor cells stained positively with vimentin, S100, alpha smooth muscle actin, and osteocalcin, suggesting origin from a multipotent mesenchymal cell. A periosteal origin for these tumors is suspected. Immunohistochemical staining for the envelope protein of JSRV (with cross-reactivity to ENTV) was equivocal, and PCR assays specific for these agents were negative.
authors.affiliation: Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, Fort Collins, CO, USA Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA karen.fox@state.co.us.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wootton
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marolf
authors.affiliation: Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, Fort Collins, CO, USA Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rouse
authors.affiliation: Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: LeVan
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spraker
authors.affiliation: Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quackenbush
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010255:Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000473:pathology; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission*; D034581:Sheep, Bighorn; D034561:Sheep, Domestic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000662:veterinary
keywords: 
  Ovis canadensis
  ; bighorn sheep; myxoma; nasal mucosa; neoplasia; paranasal sinuses; retrovirus; sinus tumor