Features of the course of the leukemic process in experimental animals

А. P. Poryvaeva¹ , I. M. Donnik¹ , A. G. Isaeva¹, L. I. Drozdova¹ , M. V. Petropavlovskiy¹ , A. S. Krivonogova² , S. Yu. Palagin³ , A. V. Lysov²

¹ Ural Federal Agrarian Research Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, Russia

² Ural State Agrarian University, Ekaterinburg, Russia

³ Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Tyumen region, Tyumen, Russia

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Volume 26 No. 9

Date of paper submission: 18.06.2026, date of review: 24.07.2026, date of acceptance: 31.07.2026

Published: 09/30/2026

Abstract. Contact transmission is the primary route for spreading the leukemia pathogen to susceptible animals, i. e., cattle. It is known that the leukemia virus can overcome the interspecies barrier and infect certain mammalian species, such as small ruminants, lagomorphs, primates, and rodents. These species can subsequently serve as an additional reservoir for the infectious agent and contribute to its dissemination. The objective of our study was to investigate the interspecies transmission and the progression pattern of the leukemic process in small ruminants. Methods. To analyze the dynamics of the infectious process in experimental animals, hematological, immunological, molecular-genetic, and histological studies were performed. Scientific novelty. New data have been obtained on the development and course of bovine leukemia virus of different genotypes in small ruminants. The database on the immunohaematological profile of small ruminants during the leukemic process has been expanded and detailed. Results. It was established that in sheep, following intraperitoneal administration of BLV antigen, the infectious process develops within 30–50 days. It has been shown that the immune system of the experimental animals was in an immunosuppressive state. It has been established that pronounced pathological processes in lymphoid tissues (lymph nodes and spleen) were detected already at the initial stage of animal infection.

Keywords: bovine leukemia virus, virus genotypes, immunohaemato-logical analysis, integral leukocyte indices, molecular genetic testing

Acknowledgements. The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 23-16- 00103, https://rscf.ru/project/23-16-00103/

For citation: Poryvaeva А. P., Donnik I. M., Isaeva A. G., Drozdova L. I., Petropavlovskiy M. V., Krivonogova A. S., Palagin S. Yu., Lysov A. V. Features of the course of the leukemic process in experimental animals. Agrarian Bulletin of the Urals. 2026; 26 (09): 1731‒1748. https://doi.org/10.32417/1997-4868-2026-26-09-1731-1748 (In Russ.) 

 

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