Pathogenesis of cutaneous marek’s disease in chickens 1 2

Study of chronologic changes in occurrence, distribution, and development of cutaneous immunofluorescent (IF) antigen and lymphoid aggregates of Marek’s disease (MD) indicated that IF antigen was in the skin before lymphoid aggregates, and when aggregates appeared they were associated with antigen-positive sites. Cutaneous lymphoid aggregates seemed to change from inflammatory to neoplastic-like lesions with time post exposure to the MD virus (MDV). These observations suggested that gross cutaneous lymphoid lesions of MD arose from lymphoid aggregates developing initially in response to MDV activity in the feather follicle epithelium. The appearance of cutaneous IF antigen coincided with the onset of MDV isolation from the blood, skin, and kidneys.-J Nat Cancer Inst 47: 389-399, 1971.