Small Ruminant Lentiviruses (SRLVs): Genetic Diversity, Pathogenicity and Diagnostic Approach
A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 5519
Special Issue Editor
Interests: involve pathology (gross, histopathology and immunohistochemistry) related to: aging brain, neurodegeneration (Scrapie); domestic animal infectious and parasitic diseases (e.g. SRLVs, PRRSV, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Toxoplasmosis, Leishmaniasis), IBD's
Special Issue Information
Dear colleagues,
Lentiviruses and their hosts have worldwide distribution and are known to cause a wide range of slowly progressive diseases affecting humans, nonhuman primates, crows, sheep, goats, and other animal species. In ruminants, the genus lentivirus (family Retroviridae) includes a heterogeneous group of viruses known as small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs), affecting goat and sheep. Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) and caprine arthritis–encephalitis virus (CAEV) are SRLVs infecting sheep and goats, respectively. Numerous studies have been devoted to the high genetic diversity and the pathogenesis of the diseases caused by SRLVs. The latter are able to cross the interspecies barrier, infecting sheep and goats through horizontal and lactogenic routes. Regarding infection among domestic and wild small ruminants, phylogenetic reconstructions support the existence of SRLV cross-species transmission. Infection of SRLVs usually leads to reproductive losses, reduction in growth rate and milk production, etc. It also appears that different strains present analogous clinical and gross, histopathological, and immunohistochemical pattern. Thus, SRLVs represent an interesting, albeit murky research topic.
Since no vaccines or treatment are available, prevention based on dependable and sensitive diagnostic methods constitutes an important issue. Laboratory diagnosis is based on routine serological and molecular assays. Further, histopathology and immunohistochemistry have been proven to be useful tools adding to the diagnosis and understating of SRLV pathogenesis, especially via the identification of novel organ and cellular targets.
This Special Issue of Pathogens aims to handle the broad range of recent advances in research on virulence mechanisms, detection, and prevention of lentiviruses in small ruminants, as well as to shed light on interspecies infection.
We welcome original papers and/or review papers that include (but are not limited to) the following topics of interest on SRLVs: epidemiology, pathology, disease pathogenesis, virus–host interactions, virulence factors, clinical aspects, immune response, and diagnostic methods.
Dr. Georgia Brellou
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- small ruminant lentiviruses
- Maedi-Visna virus
- caprine arthritis encephalitis virus
- genetic diversity
- pathogenicity
- target organs
- ELISA
- PCR
- diagnosis
- pathology
- immune response
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