Veterinary Medicine Commons^™

Brown Dog Tick: Vector For Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Craig Levy

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae), feeds primarily on dogs and until recently was not known to vector Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). In 2003–2004, fourteen cases of RMSF in humans occurred in eastern Arizona in the absence of known vectors, the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni, and American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. However, health officials found brown dog ticks to be very abundant in areas associated with human cases, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implicated that the brown dog tick was responsible for transmitting RMSF. Brown dog ticks occur throughout the United …

Genomic Organization, Sequence Divergence, And Recombination Of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus From Lions In The Wild, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Carrie L. Mccracken, Jennifer L. Troyer, Sue Vandewoude, Melody E. Roelke, Kerry Sondgeroth, Christiaan Winterbach, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) naturally infects multiple species of cat and is related to human immunodeficiency virus in humans. FIV infection causes AIDS-like disease and mortality in the domestic cat (Felis catus) and serves as a natural model for HIV infection in humans. In African lions (Panthera leo) and other exotic felid species, disease etiology introduced by FIV infection are less clear, but recent studies indicate that FIV causes moderate to severe CD4 depletion.

Results

In this study, comparative genomic methods are used to evaluate the full proviral genome of two geographically distinct FIV subtypes …

Genetic Characterization Of Feline Leukemia Virus From Florida Panthers, Meredith Brown, Mark W. Cunningham, Alfred L. Roca, Jennifer L. Troyer, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

From 2002 through 2005, an outbreak of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) occurred in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi). Clinical signs included lymphadenopathy, anemia, septicemia, and weight loss; 5 panthers died. Not associated with FeLV outcome were the genetic heritage of the panthers (pure Florida vs. Texas/Florida crosses) and co-infection with feline immunodeficiency virus. Genetic analysis of panther FeLV, designated FeLV-Pco, determined that the outbreak likely came from 1 cross-species transmission from a domestic cat. The FeLV-Pco virus was closely related to the domestic cat exogenous FeLV-A subgroup in lacking recombinant segments derived from endogenous FeLV. FeLV-Pco sequences were …

Introducing Point Mutations Into The Atgs Of The Putative Open Reading Frames Of The Hsv-1 Gene Encoding The Latency Associated Transcript (Lat) Reduces Its Anti-Apoptosis Activity, Dale Carpenter, Gail A. Henderson, Chinhui Hsiang, Nelson Osorio, Lbachir Benmohamed, Clinton J. Jones, S L. Wechsler

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) latency associated transcript (LAT) gene has anti-apoptosis activity that directly or indirectly enhances the virus’s reactivation phenotype in small animal models. The first 1.5 kb of the primary 8.3 kb LAT is sufficient and some or all of it is necessary for LAT’s anti-apoptosis in transient transfection assays and for LAT’s ability to enhance the reactivation phenotype. Based on LAT’s genomic sequence, the first 1.5 kb contains eight potential open reading frames (ORFs) defined as an ATG followed by an in frame termination codon. In this study, point mutations were introduced into the …

Lactic Acid Bacteria Cultures That Inhibit Food-Borne Pathogens: U.S. Patent No. Us 7,323,166 B2, Mindy M. Brashears, Divya Jaroni

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The present invention provides methods and compositions for preventing or inhibiting human food-borne pathogens in animals, and methods for increasing feed efficiency in animals by administering to the animal effective amounts of probiotic lactic acid producing bacteria. Further provided are feed compositions comprising probiotic lactic acid producing bacteria. A preferred probiotic lactic acid producing bacteria is Lactobacillus acidophilus strain ATCC accession number PTA-5249. This bacterial strain inhibits nalidixic acid-resistant Escherichia coli 0157:H7.

South Dakota Animal Disease Research And Diagnostic Laboratory: Annual Report 2008, Animal Disease Research And Diagnostic Laboratory, South Dakota State University

South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL)

This document is the 2008 annual report of the South Dakota Veterinary and Biomedical Science Department Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory.

Amyloid Fibrils: Potential Food Safety Implications, Michael Greger

Human Health Collection

The demonstration of oral Amyloid-A (AA) fibril transmissibility has raised food safety questions about the consumption of amyloidotic viscera. In a presumed prion-like mechanism, amyloid fibrils have been shown to trigger and accelerate the development of AA amyloidosis in rodent models. The finding of amyloid fibrils in edible avian and mammalian food animal tissues, combined with the inability of cooking temperatures to eliminate their amyloidogenic potential, has led to concerns that products such as pâté de foie gras may activate a reactive systemic amyloidosis in susceptible consumers. Given the ability of amyloid fibrils to cross-seed the formation of chemically heterologous …

Ecological Factors Associated With West Nile Virus Transmission, Northeastern United States, Heidi E. Brown, James E. Childs, Maria A. Diuk-Wasser, Durland Fish

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Since 1999, West Nile virus (WNV) disease has affected the northeastern United States. To describe the spatial epidemiology and identify risk factors for disease incidence, we analyzed 8 years (1999–2006) of county-based human WNV disease surveillance data. Among the 56.6 million residents in 8 northeastern states sharing primary enzootic vectors, we found 977 cases. We controlled for population density and potential bias from surveillance and spatial proximity. Analyses demonstrated significant spatial spreading from 1999 through 2004 (p2 = 0.16). A significant trend was apparent among increasingly urban counties; county quartiles with the least (0.75 cases/100,000 residents) than counties with the …

Myenteric Neurons Of The Ileum That Express Somatostatin Are A Target Of Prion Neuroinvasion In An Alimentary Model Of Sheep Scrapie, David A. Schneider, Huijun Yan, Lindsay M. Fry, Janet Alverson, Stephen N. White, Katherine I. O'Rourke

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Neuroinvasion of the enteric nervous system by prions is an important step in dissemination to the brain, yet very little is known about the basic process of enteric neuroinvasion. Using an alimentary model of neonatal disease transmission, neuroinvasion by scrapie prions in the ileum of lambs was detected by immunohistochemical staining for the disease-associated form of the prion protein, PrP^Sc. Odds ratios (OR) were determined for the frequency of PrP^Sc staining within enteric somata categorized by plexus location (myenteric, submucosal) and neurochemical staining (PGP 9.5, neural nitric oxide synthase, somatostatin, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide). PrP …

Prion Gene (Prnp) Haplotype Variation In United States Goat Breeds, Stephen N. White, Lynn Herrmann-Hoesing, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Daniel Waldron, Joan Rowe, Janet Alverson

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Scrapie eradication efforts cost 18 million dollars annually in the United States and rely heavily upon PRNP genotyping of sheep. Genetic resistance might reduce goat scrapie and limit the risk of goats serving as a scrapie reservoir, so PRNP coding sequences were examined from 446 goats of 10 breeds, 8 of which had not been previously examined at PRNP. The 10 observed alleles were all related to one of two central haplotypes by a single amino acid substitution. At least five of these alleles (M142, R143, S146, H154, and K222) have been associated with increased incubation time or decreased …

A Species Barrier Limits Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease To Mink (Mustela Vison), Robert D. Harrington, Timothy V. Baszler, Katherine I. O'Rourke, David A. Schneider, Terry R. Spraker, H. Denny Liggitt, Donald P. Knowles

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) occurs as sporadic outbreaks associated with ingestion of feed presumably contaminated with some type of prion disease. Mink lack a species barrier to primary oral challenge with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, whereas they have a barrier to such challenge with scrapie. We investigated whether mink have a species barrier to chronic wasting disease (CWD) by performing primary intracerebral (IC) and primary oral challenge with CWD-positive elk brain. Primary IC challenge resulted in clinical disease in two of eight mink at 31–33 months incubation. Affected mink had spongiform vacuolation and astrocytosis within the central nervous system and immunoreactivity …

Scrapie Resistance In Arq Sheep, W. W. Laegreid, M. L. Clawson, M. P. Heaton, B. T. Green, Katherine I. O'Rourke, D. P. Knowles

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Variation in the ovine prion protein amino acid sequence influences scrapie progression, with sheep homozygous for A¹³⁶R¹⁵⁴Q¹⁷¹ considered susceptible. This study examined the association of survival time of scrapie-exposed ARQ sheep with variation elsewhere in the ovine prion gene. Four single nucleotide polymorphism alleles were associated with prolonged survival. One nonsynonymous allele (T112) was associated with an additional 687 days of survival for scrapie-exposed sheep compared to M112 sheep (odds ratio, 42.5; P = 0.00014). The only two sheep homozygous for T112 (TARQ) did not develop scrapie, suggesting that the allelic effect may be additive. …

A Collaborative Canadian–United Kingdom Evaluation Of An Immunohistochemistry Protocol To Diagnose Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Lisa Manning, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Donald P. Knowles, Sarah A. Marsh, Yvonne I. Spencer, Estella Moffat, Gerald A. H. Wells, Stefanie Czub

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

Collaboration was established in 2001 to evaluate a commercially available immunohistochemistry assay kit for the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) disease–associated prion protein in formic acid–treated formalin-fixed samples of bovine brain. The kit protocol was evaluated at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases (Winnipeg, Canada) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (Weybridge, U.K.). The U.K. laboratory provided paraffin-embedded blocks of brainstem (medulla oblongata at the level of the obex) from 100 positive cases defined by clinical signs and histopathology, and 100 clinically suspect but BSE-negative samples defined by histopathology and immunohistochemistry with anti-PrP monoclonal antibody R145. The Canadian laboratory …

Experimental Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease (Cwd) Of Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni), White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), And Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus Hemionus) To White-Tailed Deer By Intracerebral Route, A. N. Hamir, J. A. Richt, J. M. Miller, R. A. Kunkle, S. M. Hall, E. M. Nicholson, Katherine I. O'Rourke, J. J. Greenlee, E. S. Williams

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

To compare clinical and pathologic findings of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a natural host, 3 groups (n = 5) of white-tailed deer (WTD) fawns were intracerebrally inoculated with a CWD prion of WTD, mule deer, or elk origin. Three other uninoculated fawns served as controls. Approximately 10 months postinoculation (MPI), 1 deer from each of the 3 inoculated groups was necropsied and their tissues were examined for lesions of spongiform encephalopathy (SE) and for the presence of abnormal prion protein (PrP^d) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot (WB). The remaining deer were allowed to live until …

Chronic Wasting Disease In A Wisconsin White-Tailed Deer Farm, Delwyn P. Keane, Daniel J. Barr, Phillip N. Bochsler, S. Mark Hall, Thomas Gidlewski, Katherine I. O'Rourke, Terry R. Spraker, Michael D. Samuel

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

In September 2002, chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disorder of captive and wild cervids, was diagnosed in a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from a captive farm in Wisconsin. The facility was subsequently quarantined, and in January 2006 the remaining 76 deer were depopulated. Sixty animals (79%) were found to be positive by immunohistochemical staining for the abnormal prion protein (PrP^CWD) in at least one tissue; the prevalence of positive staining was high even in young deer. Although none of the deer displayed clinical signs suggestive of CWD at depopulation, 49 deer had considerable accumulation of …

Comparison Of The Effect Of Pressure Loading On Left Ventricular Size, Systolic And Diastolic Function In Canines With Left Ventricular Dysfunction With Preserved And Reduced Ejection Fraction, Steven J. Lavine, Donald A. Conetta

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Decompensated heart failure may present with severe hypertension in patients with preserved (PreEF) or reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (RedEF) and is clinically indistinguishable. Previously, we demonstrated that arterial pressure elevation increases LV filling pressures in a canine model of chronic LV dysfunction with PreEF or RedEF. It is not clear whether any differences in hemodynamics, LV volume or performance, or diastolic function can be demonstrated between canines with PreEF or RedEF in response to arterial pressure elevation. We hypothesized that the LV systolic, diastolic, and hemodynamic response to pressure loading would be similar in RedEF or …

Animal-Side Serologic Assay For Rapid Detection Of Mycobacterium Bovis Infection In Multiple Species Of Free-Ranging Wildlife, K.P. Lyashchenko, R. Greenwald, J. Esfandiari, M.A. Chambers, J. Vicente, C. Gortazar, N. Santos, M. Correia-Neves, B.M. Buddle, R. Jackson, D.J. O’Brien, S. Schmitt, M. V. Palmer, R.J. Delahay, W.R. Waters

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Numerous species of mammals are susceptible to Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Several wildlife hosts have emerged as reservoirs of M. bovis infection for domestic livestock in different countries. In the present study, blood samples were collected from Eurasian badgers (n = 1532), white-tailed deer (n = 463), brushtail possums (n = 129), and wild boar (n = 177) for evaluation of antibody responses to M. bovis infection by a lateral-flow rapid test (RT) and multiantigen print immunoassay (MAPIA). Magnitude of the antibody responses and antigen recognition patterns varied among the animals as determined by …

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Project: 2008 Activities Report

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that is close to being eradicated in the United States, but still poses a significant risk to domestic livestock, wildlife, companion animals, and humans throughout the world. The Michigan Bovine TB Eradication Project involves a multiagency team of experts from the Michigan Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Community Health, Michigan State University, and the US Department of Agriculture.

Managing Bovine Tuberculosis In White-Tailed Deer In Northwestern Minnesota: A 2008 Progress Report, Michelle Carstensen, Erika Butler, Michael Doncarlos, Lou Cornicelli

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Bovine tuberculosis (TB), first discovered in 2005, has now been found in 12 cattle operations in northwestern Minnesota. To date, all of the infected cattle herds have been depopulated and the Board of Animal Health (BAH) has continued to test cattle herds in the area. The strain has been identified as one that is consistent with Bovine TB found in cattle in the southwestern United States and Mexico. In response to the disease being detected in cattle, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) began surveillance efforts in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) within a 15-mile radius of …

Risks Associated With The Transmission Of Bovine Tuberculosis From White-Tailed Deer To Cattle In Michigan: Current Research, Are R. Berentsen, Mike R. Dunbar, Regina Ebersole, Robert G. Mclean

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a contagious disease of livestock, wildlife, and humans. Typically, it is transmitted through inhalation of aerosolized bacilli and direct or indirect contact between animals. In northeastern Michigan, bTB is endemic in white-tailed deer, and evidence suggests deer have spread the disease to domestic cattle. Previous research indicates bTB transmission likely occurs through contamination of cattle feeding sources by infected deer and subsequent use by cattle. We are investigating deer movements in relation to farm management practices such as feeding schedules as well as locations of cattle feeding areas, hay storage sites, barns, and water sources. All …

Blood Culture And Stimulation Conditions For The Diagnosis Of Tuberculosis In Cervids By The Cervigam Assay, W. R. Waters, M. V. Palmer, T. C. Thacker, K. Orloski, P. Nol, N. P. Harrington, S. C. Olsen, B. J. Nonnecke

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Mitogen- and antigen-induced interferon-γ (IFN-γ) responses of peripheral blood leucocytes from cervids were evaluated by a commercial whole-blood assay. The assay was applied to Mycobacterium bovis-infected white-tailed deer and reindeer, M bovis BCG-vaccinated white-tailed deer and elk, and unvaccinated, uninfected white-tailed deer, fallow deer, elk and reindeer. The responses of the M bovis-infected white-tailed deer to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) varied with time and between individuals. The responses of the M bovis-infected reindeer to PWM and M bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) were positively associated. Samples from tuberculosis-free captive herds in various parts of the USA were also …

Sentinel-Based Surveillance Of Coyotes To Detect Bovine Tuberculosis, Michigan, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Todd C. Atwood, Thomas J. Deliberto, Holly J. Smith, Justin S. Stevenson, Bruce V. Thomsen, Thomas Gidlewski, Janet Payeur

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the northeastern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Bovine TB in deer and cattle has created immense fi nancial consequences for the livestock industry and hunting public. Surveillance identified coyotes (Canis latrans) as potential bio-accumulators of Mycobacterium bovis, a finding that generated interest in their potential to serve as sentinels for monitoring disease risk. We sampled 175 coyotes in the bovine TB–endemic area. Fifty-eight tested positive, and infection prevalence by county ranged from 19% to 52% (statistical mean 33%, SE 0.07). By contrast, prevalence in …

Phylogenetics And New Approaches To Vaccine Development For West Nile, Arun Venkatesh Iyer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

West Nile virus (WNV) was first isolated in 1937 from a febrile Ugandan woman. WNV now has a worldwide distribution from Australia and India in the east to Europe and the United States in the west. The first human cases of WNV in the United States were detected in New York in 1999. The North American isolates were also found to be highly neuroinvasive and neurovirulent and in many cases leading to mortality or permanent CNS sequelae among humans. WNV was first isolated in Louisiana in 2001. The genome of this virus named LSU-AR01was sequenced and a detailed genetic analysis …

The Relationship Between Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines, Prostaglandins, And Fetal Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activation In Mares With Infective Pre-Term Delivery, Sara K. Lyle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ascending placentitis is a significant cause of abortions, stillbirths, and perinatal loss in horses. A technique for laparoscopic-guided catheterization of the allantoic space was developed and utilized in an experimental model of streptococcal infective pre-term delivery in pony mares. Mares received either 1 x 107 CFU live S. zooepidemicus (n=3), 5.1 x 108 CFU live S. zooepidemicus (n=1), 1 x 107 heat-killed S. zooepidemicus (n=3), 1 mL sterile PBS (n=3). Sham control mares did not receive a transcervical inoculation (n=3). One mare not instrumented with an allantoic catheter received 5.1 x 108 CFU live S. zooepidemicus. Mares with spontaneous abortion …

The Zinc Induction Of Heme Oxygenase-1 Gene Promoter In Mouse Hepa Cells, Salim M. Alawneh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) catalyzes the initial and rate-limiting reaction in heme catabolism (yielding equimolar quantities of iron, carbon monoxide, and biliverdin), which is further metabolized to bilirubin by biliverdin reductase. HO-1, an important enzyme with antioxidant and cytoprotective properties, functions against oxidative stress generated in response to heme and to various stress stimuli, such as zinc. The cytoprotective function of HO-1 is dependent on both the activities of the reaction products and on the inducibility of the heme oxygenase gene (hmox-1), which is regulated primarily at the level of gene transcription by two distal enhancers, E1 and E2. Characterization of …

Effects Of Centrifugation On Equine Spermatozoa Immediately And After Cooling For 24 Hours, Jose Augusto Len

LSU Master's Theses

Len, Jose Augusto, MVZ, Universidad de Guadalajara, 1994 Master of Science, Summer Commencement, 2008 Major: Veterinary Medical Sciences Effects of Centrifugation on Equine Spermatozoa Immediately and After Cooling for 24 Hours Thesis directed by Professor Bruce Eilts Pages in thesis, 60. Words in abstract, 245. ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of centrifugation on equine sperm progressive motility, plasma membrane integrity (viability), and acrosome integrity. We hypothesized that high centrifugation forces would be detrimental to equine sperm, yet recovery rates would increase. Ejaculates from six stallions were collected, extended (INRA96) to a concentration of 25 …

Comparative Roles Of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (Hsv-1) Glycoproteins In Cytoplasmic Virion Egress, Hyuncheol Lee

LSU Master's Theses

HSV-1 acquires its final envelope by budding into cytoplasmic vesicles thought to be derived from Trans-Golgi Network (TGN) membranes. This process is facilitated by interactions among the carboxyl termini of viral glycoproteins and tegument proteins. To investigate the relative importance of different viral glycoproteins in cytoplasmic virion morphogenesis, a set of recombinant viruses were constructed silencing expression of the glycoprotein E (ΔgE), the carboxyl terminus of glycoprotein D (gDΔcp), and the membrane protein UL20 (ΔUL20). In addition, recombinant viruses were constructed having the ΔgE+gDΔcp, and the ΔgE+ΔgM (glycoprotein M) deletions. These recombinant viruses were constructed using the double-red, site-directed mutagenesis …

Phenotypic Characterization Of Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament Associated Synoviocytes, Sunil C. Vasanjee

LSU Master's Theses

Identification of synoviocytes surrounding the canine cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) has not been investigated. Objectives 1) Develop and validate a technique to identify and quantify normal canine CrCL associated synoviocytes. 2) Compare synoviocyte phenotype proportions surrounding normal and abnormal canine CrCLs Design In vitro experimental Animals Cranial cruciate ligaments from 4 intact female and 6 intact adult male mixed-breed dogs (objective 1) and from 8 adult female hound dogs (objective 2) Methods Objective 1) Normal CrCLs - CD18 and HSP25 epitopes were colocalized using immunohistochemistry. Sagittal sections were quantified in the proximal, middle, and distal aspects of each section. Western …

Molecular Determinants Of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Tumorigenicity, Haixia Kong

LSU Master's Theses

A conditional silencing system using anti-gB siRNAs was devised to investigate the structure and function of the KSHV gB. Transient co-transfection of plasmids constitutively expressing gB and anti-gB siRNAs in 293 cells substantially inhibited gB mRNA levels and protein production. Similarly, transient expression of siRNAs into the basal cavity-based lymphoma cells (BCBL-1) caused substantial reduction of gB transcription and protein synthesis. TaqMan real-time PCR and infectivity assays showed that gB was essential for virion egress and infectivity. Transfection of a codon-optimized gB not recognized by the anti-gB siRNAs, efficiently rescued virion egress and infectivity in BCBL-1 cells in the presence …

The Interaction Between Kshv Rta And Cellular Rbp-Jκ And Their Subsequent Dna Binding Are Not Sufficient For Activation Of Rbp-Jκ, Anil Papugani, Tricia Coleman, Clinton J. Jones, Luwen Zhang

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) replication and transcription activator (RTA) is necessary and sufficient for the switch from KSHV latency to lytic replication. RTA activates promoters by several mechanisms. RTA can bind to sequences in viral promoters and activate transcription. In addition, RTA interacts with the cellular recombination signal sequence-binding protein-J kappa (RBP- Jκ), a transcriptional repressor, converts the repressor into an activator and activates viral promoters via RBP- Jκ. Because RBP- Jκ is required for RTA to activate lytic replication, it is important to understand how RTA cooperates with RBP- Jκ protein to activate KSHV lytic replication program. Previously, we …