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Affinity
(tropism) of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus for brain
cells
Adebayo, I. A.1*,
Awoniyi, T. A. M. 1
and Olaleye, O. D.2
1Department
of Animal Production and Health, Animal Parasitology and
Microbiology Research Unit, Federal University of
Technology, P M B 704, Akure, Nigeria.
2Department
of Virology, University College Hospital, University of
Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
adebayoick@yahoo.com.
Accepted 5 September, 2008 |
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One of the constraints in unraveling the mysteries blurring
the advancement of research in the quest to totally put HIV
problems under control is getting the appropriate animal
model that would truly simulate human cases. This problem is
more apparent in studies involving the central nervous
system. Consequently, a viable animal model to generate
information for the production of drugs and vaccines for the
prevention and or control of lentiviral induced dementia in
affected host animals is pertinent and vital. In this study,
explant cultures prepared from the brain of new-born
goat-kid were infected with Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis
(CAE) virus- a retrovirus affecting goats. The specific
brain cell types infected by the (CAE) virus were determined
using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
and transmission electron microscopy (TEM techniques). TEM
showed that in 85 – 90% cases, microglia were the cells
specifically infected by the virus. Amplification of the
genomic sequence of the envelope and the gag genes
by RT-PCR confirmed the presence of CAEV proviral DNA in
the brain cells of affected animals. No productive infection
of the astrocytes was observed. The results of this study
showed a lot of similarities in the tropism of CAE virus
infection of goat brain cells to that of HIV infection in
humans thus suggesting the potential usefulness of the
caprine model for the study of HIV neuropathology. The goat
model system as a non-primate model therefore could be more
adaptable as a simple animal model than primate models with
their complexity of anthropological, environmental and
safety problems.
Key words:
CAEV, HIV, affinity, brain cells, RT-PCR, TEM.
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