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Clinical overview of feline immunodeficiency virus

1991; American Veterinary Medical Association; Volume: 199; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2460/javma.1991.199.10.1298

1943-569X

Niels C. Pedersen, Jeffrey E. Barlough,

Virology and Viral Diseases

F eline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) was first isolated in 1986 from a large , multiple-cat household located in Petaluma, California .l The discovery was precipitated by the cattery owner's recognition of an immunodeficiency-like syndrome among a group of FeL V -negative cats.Originally called feline T -lymphotropic lentivirus, the new feline agent has since been renamed to conform to current nomenclature regarding immunodeficiency-indUCing lentiviruses.Included among these viruses is the human immunodefiCiency virus (HIV), the cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in people. Characteristics of the VirusIn common with that of other retroviruses, the genetic material of FIV is composed of RNA.The production of a DNA copy of the viral RNA is an essential step in the replication of FIV within host cells.This step requires the enzyme reverse transcriptase (RT), which is carried into the cell by FIV itself.The DNA version of the viral genome is inserted into the genetic material of infected host cells, in which it resides in provirus form.The provirus is replicated whenever the host cell undergoes division and can code for the production of new virus particles.A cell infected with a lentivirus such as FlY is infected for the duration of its lifetime, as are all of its progeny.Feline immunodefiCiency virus replicates optimally in blood mononuclear cell (BMC) cultures that have been stimulated with aT-cell mitogen such as concanavalin A (conA), and that are then maintained on the T-cell growth factor interleukin-2 (IL-2) 1 ,2 A characteristic cytopathiC effect appears in such cultures within 2 to 4 weeks, accompanied by the appearance of virion-associated RT and the FlY p24 core protein.This cytopathic effect often is transient, and cultures that are periodically replenished with fresh cultured BMC can retain productive infections for several weeks.