PERMISSIVITà DI LINEE FIBROBLASTICHE OVINE CON DIVERSO GENOTIPO AL LOCUS TMEM154 NEI CONFRONTI DI DIVERSI GENOTIPI/SOTTOTIPI DI LENTIVIRUS

Smallruminantlentiviruses (SRLV) infect sheep and goats worldwide, with no cure or vaccine. Control efforts are limited by viral persistence. A variant in the TMEM154 gene (E35K SNP) has been linked to resistance. This study tested 10 fibroblast lines from animals with different TMEM154 genotypes (EE, EK and KK, the putative resistant haplotype) using 8 SRLV strains. Resistance was assessed via RT activity, cytopathic effects, and viral entry assays. Two strains showed reduced infection in KK cells, and entry assays revealed significant genotype-based differences in 7 of 8 strains, suggesting that entry blockade is the main resistance mechanism in KK cells. These findings support TMEM154 genotyping for breeding SRLV-resistant sheep and confirm the value of an ex-vivo model for studying strain-specific resistance.