Evaluation of syncytium assay for bovine leukemia virus.

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Abstract
As a new method for the detection of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection, a syncytium assay was evaluated with lymphocytes from infected cattle and sheep. Only when lymphocytes from cattle with enzootic bovine leukosis and from sheep experimentally infected with BLV were used, syncytium formation was induced among indicator cells. A direct proportional dose response was presented by the number of inoculated lymphocytes from BLV-infected cattle to the number of syncytia formed. Treatment of lymphocytes from cattle with an adult form of lymphosarcoma with anti-BLV serum could inhibit the syncytium formation, but neither antiserum against bovine syncytial virus nor the sera from cattle with sporadic form of lymphosarcoma could inhibit. The specificity and the usefulness of this assay for detection of BLV infection are indicated.