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Journal of Virology, October 2006, p. 9710-9719, Vol. 80, No. 19
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01022-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Peripheral Blood B-Cell Death Compensates for Excessive Proliferation in Lymphoid Tissues and Maintains Homeostasis in Bovine Leukemia Virus-Infected Sheep

Christophe Debacq,¹ Nicolas Gillet,¹ Becca Asquith,² Maria Teresa Sanchez-Alcaraz,³ Arnaud Florins,¹ Mathieu Boxus,¹ Isabelle Schwartz-Cornil,⁴ Michel Bonneau,⁴ Geneviève Jean,⁵ Pierre Kerkhofs,⁶ Jack Hay,⁷ André Théwis,⁵ Richard Kettmann,¹ and Luc Willems^1*

Molecular and Cellular Biology, FNRS-FUSAG, Gembloux, Belgium,¹ Department of Immunology, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom,² Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,³ U892 INRA, Jouy-en-Josas, France,⁴ Zootechny Unit, FUSAG, Gembloux, Belgium,⁵ Department of Virology, Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre, Uccle, Belgium,⁶ Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada⁷

Received 18 May 2006/ Accepted 7 July 2006

The size of a lymphocyte population is primarily determined by a dynamic equilibrium between cell proliferation and death. Hence, lymphocyte recirculation between the peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues is a key determinant in the maintenance of cell homeostasis. Insights into these mechanisms can be gathered from large-animal models, where lymphatic cannulation from individual lymph nodes is possible. In this study, we assessed in vivo lymphocyte trafficking in bovine leukemia virus (BLV)-infected sheep. With a carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester labeling technique, we demonstrate that the dynamics of lymphocyte recirculation is unaltered but that accelerated proliferation in the lymphoid tissues is compensated for by increased death in the peripheral blood cell population. Lymphocyte homeostasis is thus maintained by biphasic kinetics in two distinct tissues, emphasizing a very dynamic process during BLV infection.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Fund for Scientific Research, Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, 13 avenue Maréchal Juin, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium. Phone: 32-81-622157. Fax: 32-81-613888. E-mail: willems.l{at}fsagx.ac.be.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jvi.asm.org/.

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Journal of Virology, October 2006, p. 9710-9719, Vol. 80, No. 19
0022-538X/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01022-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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