A real-time RT-PCR assay using TaqMan-MGB probes was developed to detect and type the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in cattle. Universal primers and TaqMan-MGB probes were designed from the 5´-untranslated region of known pestiviral sequences. Prior to optimizing the assay, cRNAs were transcribed in vitro from the BVDV 1 and BVDV 2 RTPCR products to make standard curves. The detection limit of the assay was 1.72×102 copies for BVDV 1 and 2.14×102 copies for BVDV 2. The specificity of the assay evaluated on several BVDV strains including bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV 1), foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) and several classical swine fever virus (CSFV) strains showed specific detection of the positive virus over 40 cycles. The assay was highly reproducible with the coefficient of variance ranging from 1.04 to 1.33% for BVDV 1 and from 0.83 to 1.48% for BVDV 2, respectively. Using this method, we tested a total of 2 327 cattle from three dairy farms for the presence of BVDV persistently infected (PI) animals. In this assay, each RT-PCR template contained a mixture of ten samples from different animals. The occurrence rate of PI cattle in three farms ranging from 0.9 to 2.54% could represent partly the PI rates in cattle farm in China. In conclusion, using our real-time PCR assay, we could effectively detect and type BVDV and identify PI cattle in a rapid and cost-effective manner.

To investigate the dynamic change of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in the genesis and development of tumor, we successfully established tumor animal model using Marek’s disease and then determined the location of Hsp90 in the tumor tissue using immunohistochemistry method, the antibody titer level of Hsp90 in the serum and the expression level in the tissue using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Our result showed that Hsp90 location in the tumor tissue was significantly associated with the tumor cell and most in the cytoplasm of the tumor cell, and Hsp90 expression level in the tissue and the antibody titer level in the serum was most significantly increased with the development of tumor. This is the first report to show the presence of Hsp90 in tumor tissues induced by the Marek’s disease, with its expression correlated to the tumoral grading. These data may also be valuable for developing new molecular anti-cancer therapies.