Abstract

Marek’s disease, caused by herpes virus infection , is a highly contagious disease characterized by latent infection. Here, we aimed to study the pathology, viremia and apoptosis during the Marek’s Disease Virus (MDV) latency in vaccinated chickens. Vaccinated chickens were inoculated with the MD5 strain and were dissected at different time points. The viremia occurs in the spleen and thymus during the latency period of MD5 infection, however, lesions can be observed in the liver tissue. The latency-associated early gene of MDV , i.e., ICP4, was highly expressed in the spleen and thymus during the early latency. Compared with the early cytolytic stage, apoptosis of splenocytes was remarkably downregulated in the latency period. This study suggests that MDV latency could occur in the spleen and thymus in vaccinated chickens and there is a negative correlation between the MDV latency and apoptosis of spleen. MDV latency can resist the apoptosis of spleen.