Developing an ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma model  

Background

Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma (OPA) is an incurable lung disease in sheep caused by the Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus (JSRV). JSRV triggers tumour formation in the lungs, leading to progressive respiratory illness.

OPA spreads mainly through respiratory secretions, making it highly contagious within flocks. The disease has a significant impact on animal health, welfare, and farm profitability in the United Kingdom and worldwide.

At present, there is:

• no effective vaccine
• no curative treatment.

Control depends on early detection and the culling of affected animals. This creates economic and emotional challenges for farmers and livestock managers.

Understanding how OPA develops will create better control strategies. This requires reliable model systems that allow scientists to observe what happens after infection.

Researchers have developed an experimental model in lambs using bronchoscopic delivery of JSRV into a specific lung lobe. This approach enables scientists to monitor disease progression and study how the virus causes cancer.

By improving our understanding of OPA and refining research models, scientists move closer to protecting flocks and supporting sustainable sheep farming.

At LARIF

Researchers have drawn on the specialist resources at the Large Animal Research and Imaging Facility.

• specialist animal housing
• skilled research technicians
• a dedicated veterinary anaesthesia team
• advanced imaging technologies, such as CT and ultrasound
• an expert veterinary imaging team.

These capabilities create a highly controlled, high-quality research environment.

Impact

Through the use of LARIF facilities, scientists can produce an OPA model that allows precise, real-time monitoring of tumour progression at a level not previously possible.

This drives important advances in:

• diagnostic development - identifying blood-based biomarkers for earlier, more accurate detection
• disease transmission insights - air sampling studies to measure differences in infectiousness and susceptibility between individual sheep
• deeper biological understanding - exploring disease mechanisms through single-nucleus transcriptomics.

These studies could shape practice-changing policies for controlling or even eradicating, this devastating livestock disease.

OPA is also gaining recognition as a translational model for human lung cancer. Research using this model has supported studies on delivering therapies directly into tumours, helping inform new approaches for treating human patients.

By combining cutting-edge facilities with innovative science, this work is advancing both veterinary medicine and human health research.

Publications