Ultrastucture of Arthritis Induced by a Caprine Retrovirus

The ultrastructure of early retrovirus-induced arthritis was studied sequentially in 20 goat kids inoculated with caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus. Synovial lesions began as intercellular edema and collagen fragmentation and continued as progressive mononuclear cell infiltration and lining cell hyperplasia, hypertrophy, and necrosis. At 18 through 45 days after the inoculation, lining cells contained small accumulations of virus-like particles similar to virus seen in infected tissue culture cells. No virus was seen budding from infected lining cell membranes.