Detection of bovine coronavirus by RT-PCR in a field study

In the present study we used RT-PCR assay for detecting of BCoV, targeting a 730 bp fragment of the nucleocapsid (N) gene of BCoV with published primers that could amplify all BCoV strains. We evaluated presence of BCoV in diarrheic and nondiarrheic samples. 108 faecal samples from diarrheic calves and 80 faecal samples from nondiarrheic calves collected. In 13 of 108 diarrheic samples both ELISA and RT-PCR detected BCoV. In 4 of 80 samples second group (non diarrheic) BCoV was detected by RT-PCR only not capture ELISA. This report is the first detection of BCoV in Iran. The results suggest that RT-PCR is more sensitive than ELISA method to detect BCoV, especially in subclinical cases. Because these animals shed a low amount of virus in faeces we need to apply sensitive techniques, such as RT-PCR, nested PCR and real time RT-PCR

Interaction between Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection and age on telomerase misregulation

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the causative agent of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL). BLV can interact with telomerase and inhibits telomere shortening, contributing in leukemogenesis and tumour induction. The role of telomerase in BLV-induced lymphosarcoma and aging has been extensively studied. To date, the interaction of both BLV and aging on telomerase mis-regulation have, however, not been investigated. In the present study, telomerase activity in BLV positive and negative cows was compared over a wide range of ages (11-85 months). Lymphocyte counts were also measured in both BLV positive and negative groups. Telomerase activity was detected in all BLV infected animals with persistent lymphocytosis (PL), especially in older individuals. This study revealed that the cells undergo the natural telomerase shortening even in the presence of an existing viral infection. We also show that viral infection, especially during the PL phase of the disease, increases telomerase activity. A statistically significant interaction between age and viral infection was observed for telomere shortening during BLV infection. Older animals with BLV infection, especially those with persistent lymphocytosis or visible tumors, exhibited a sharp increase in telomerase activity. This study demonstrates that there is a significant interaction between BLV infection and telomerase up-regulation and lymphocytosis.Farhid Hemmatzadeh, Hadi Keyvanfar, Noor Haliza Hasan, Faustina Niap, Ebrahim Bani Hassan, Azar Hematzade, Esmaeil Ebrahimie, Andrea McWhorter, Jagoda Ignjatovi