lentivirus

noun

len·ti·vi·rus | \ ˌlen-tə-ˈvī-rəs

Definition of lentivirus

: any of a genus (Lentivirus) of retroviruses (such as the HIVs and SIV) that cause slowly progressive often fatal human and animal diseases (such as AIDS)

Examples of lentivirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In 2016 a team led by Ewelina Mamcarz, a bone marrow transplant specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, launched a trial for SCID-X1 using a lentivirus (a virus related to HIV) as a vector. — Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2021 Another type of gene-delivering virus, or vector, has been implicated in cancers in clinical trials, but never a lentivirus. — Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, 11 Aug. 2021 Sen’s team tested its existing material on a different coronavirus strain that causes a respiratory illness in pigs and on an unrelated type of pathogen called a lentivirus. — Rachel Crowell, Scientific American, 24 June 2020 Given that the transmissions between the cat species are so frequent, the lentivirus may eventually mutate enough to find the mountain lions habitable, but so far that hasn’t happened despite many opportunities. — Quanta Magazine, 13 Sep. 2017 VandeWoude studies lentiviruses — a type of retrovirus that includes HIV — in mountain lions and bobcats. — Quanta Magazine, 13 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lentivirus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Lentivirus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lentivirus. Accessed 23 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for lentivirus

lentivirus

noun

len·ti·vi·rus | \ ˈlen-tə-ˌvī-rəs

Medical Definition of lentivirus

1 capitalized : a genus of single-stranded RNA viruses (as HIV and SIV) of the family Retroviridae that cause progressive often fatal human and animal diseases (as AIDS, equine infectious anemia, and ovine progressive pneumonia)

2 : any virus of the genus Lentivirus