Ronald D. Randel Lectureship Part II: Interferons during Early Pregnancy and Fetal Response to Viral Infection

An abstract of a study by Hansen et al detailing interferons (IFN) during early pregnancy and fetal response to viral infection in cattle is presented. IFN are cytokines induced in cells by viral infections that provide a first line of defense against other viral infections. These cytokines are derived from a multi-gene family and classified as Type I IFNs and Type II IFNg. The impact of maternal bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection on IFNs, ISGs and fetal development was examined during pregnancy. Infection of pregnant cows (d75) with ncpBVDV induces a rapid innate immune response (IFN-I and ISGs) that decreases viral replication and leads to the induction of adaptive immune responses that clears the virus in xx 3 weeks. Clarifying the mechanisms of fetal BVDV persistence in the face of activated IFNs will lead to better management tools, detection, biocontainment and antiviral treatments.