Preservation of a T Cell-Mediated Immune Response in Marek's Disease Virus-Infected Chickens by Vaccination with a Related Virus

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Abstract
The oncogenic effect of Merek's disease virus (MDV)3 is manifested by a lymphoproliferative neoplastic condition primarily affecting nerves and visceral organs (For reviews see References 1, 2). Necrosis and atrophy of both the thymus and bursa of Fabricius are frequent findings in MDV-infected birds and degenerative changes are found in feather follicle epithelium where complete enveloped virions are formed. The necrobiosis in the thymus and bursa is associated with the presence of viral antigens but enveloped virions are very rare in these organs. There is evidence that the lymphoid tumors are composed of thymus-derived cells (3, 4) which possess tumor-associated antigens (5). Suppression of both cellular (6) and humoral (7) immune responses in MDV-infected chickens has been reported. In this regard, we have shown that spleen cells from birds infected with MDV are markedly depressed in their responsiveness to the T cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (8).

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