Effect of endogenous leukosis virus genes on response to infection with avian leukosis and reticuloendotheliosis viruses.

We examined the effect of the presence or absence of endogenous viral gene (ev) 3, which controls expression of group-specific viral and envelope antigens (gs+chf+ phenotype), and ev2, which controls the production of a complete subgroup E virus (V-E+ phenotype), on the response of chickens to RAV-1, an exogenous avian leukosis virus (ALV) with an antigenic relationship to endogenous virus. After inoculation at one day of age, the chickens lacking either ev gene expression had a lower frequency of virus isolations and higher frequency and titer of neutralizing antibodies than those expressing ev genes. This relationship was not seen in groups inoculated with chick syncytial virus (CSV), a reticuloendotheliosis-associated virus with no relationship to endogenous virus, but the ev2+ birds tended to yield more CSV isolations than the ev2- birds. We suggest that chickens expressing ev genes may be immunologically tolerant to antigens common to exogenous and endogenous viruses. In addition, ev3- birds inoculated with RAV-1 at one day of age or as embryos died at a high rate between 6 and 12 weeks of age with a non-neoplastic syndrome characterized by severe atrophy of lymphoid organs, an inflammatory reaction in the liver, and a lower immune response to particulate antigens.