Endothelial cell infection in vivo by equine infectious anaemia virus.

Equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) infection of horses is characterized clinically by recurrent episodes of fever, thrombocytopenia and anaemia. In vivo, the only site of virus replication that has been previously demonstrated for EIAV is the tissue macrophage. In this study, in situ hybridization for EIAV was combined with immunohistochemistry for cell-type-specific markers to identify infected endothelial cells. EIAV-infected endothelial cells and macrophages were detected in horses infected with either virulent wild-type or with weakly virulent tissue culture-adapted strains of EIAV. The role of endothelial cell infection in the pathogenesis of EIAV remains undefined, but could contribute to the development of thrombocytopenia. However, endothelial cell infection does not appear to be a determinant of virulence for EIAV.