Marek's disease: a natural model for the Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome

The early lesions of Marek's disease in chickens are indistinguishable from those of the Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome in human beings. Because of these similarities, and since the etiological agent (a herpesvirus) is known, Marek's disease can be meaningfully exploited as a model of the Landry-Guillain-Barré syndrome. Recent work in our laboratories has shown that the agent establishes latent infections in neuronal supporting cells and that affected birds mount cellular and humoral immunological reactions to peripheral nerve and myelin. Based on these findings, a working hypothesis for the pathogenesis of the disease is presented.