1
|
Saejung W, Khumtong K, Rapichai W, Ratanabunyong S, Rattanasrisomporn A, Choowongkomon K, Rungsuriyawiboon O, Rattanasrisomporn J. Detection of feline immunodeficiency virus by neutral red-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay. Vet World 2024; 17:72-81. [PMID: 38406374 PMCID: PMC10884571 DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.72-81] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Background and Aim Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a retroviral pathogen globally responsible for immunodeficiency disease in cats. However, the current diagnosis based on antibody detection has limitations and can also produce false-positive results. This study aimed to develop a one-pot loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) process integrated with neutral red (NR-LAMP) assay for detection of FIV proviral DNA. Materials and Methods We developed a one-pot, gag gene-based NR-LAMP for convenient, rapid, specific, and sensitive colorimetric inspection of FIV proviral DNA. Results The developed NR-LAMP was capable of amplifying at an optimum temperature of 65°C for 40 min. No cross-amplification was detected between FIV and other feline viruses tested, indicating the high specificity (98.44%) of the novel FIV-LAMP primer. Our NR-LAMP assay has a detection limit of 4.2 × 101 copies/μL. A total of 80 clinical samples with a background of FIV infection were collected and tested using the proposed method. The NR-LAMP assay showed a high sensitivity of 100% compared to conventional polymerase chain reaction assay. Conclusion These results support the suitability of NR-LAMP as a potential future alternative clinical molecular approach for further use in the diagnosis of FIV-infected cats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wichayet Saejung
- Graduate Program in Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Kotchaporn Khumtong
- Graduate Program in Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Witsanu Rapichai
- Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Siriluk Ratanabunyong
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Amonpun Rattanasrisomporn
- Interdisciplinary of Genetic Engineering and Bioinformatics, Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Oumaporn Rungsuriyawiboon
- Department of Veterinary Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Jatuporn Rattanasrisomporn
- Graduate Program in Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sykes JE. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Infection. CANINE AND FELINE INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2014. [PMCID: PMC7152317 DOI: 10.1016/b978-1-4377-0795-3.00021-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
3
|
Kolenda-Roberts HM, Kuhnt LA, Jennings RN, Mergia A, Gengozian N, Johnson CM. Immunopathogenesis of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in the fetal and neonatal cat. FRONT BIOSCI-LANDMRK 2007; 12:3668-82. [PMID: 17485330 PMCID: PMC2278015 DOI: 10.2741/2343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The global incidence of pediatric HIV infection is estimated at 2.3 million children, most acquiring the infection from their mothers in utero, peripartum, or postpartum. Pediatric HIV infection typically causes a rapidly progressive disease when compared with adult infection, due in part to the profound susceptibility of the neonatal thymus to productive infection or degenerative changes. Failed production of naive T-lymphocytes further limits the success of antiviral therapy to restore immunologic function. In this review, we explore the use of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection of domestic cats as an animal model for pediatric HIV infection. Cats infected with FIV represent the smallest host of a naturally occurring lentivirus, and the immunodeficiency syndrome elicited by FIV infection is similar to that of HIV-AIDS. The feline-FIV model uniquely reproduces several key aspects of immunosuppressive lentivirus infection of the thymus, allowing investigators to define viral determinants of pathogenicity, influence of host age on disease outcome, and therapeutic strategies to restore thymus function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Holly M. Kolenda-Roberts
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
| | - Leah A. Kuhnt
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
| | - Ryan N. Jennings
- Veterinary Medical Program, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
| | - Ayalew Mergia
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
| | - Nazareth Gengozian
- Department of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tennessee, and the Thompson Cancer Survival Center, Knoxville, TN
| | - Calvin M. Johnson
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
FIV as a Model for HIV: An Overview. IN VIVO MODELS OF HIV DISEASE AND CONTROL 2007. [PMCID: PMC7121254 DOI: 10.1007/0-387-25741-1_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Animal models for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection play a key role in understanding the pathogenesis of AIDS and the development of therapeutic agents and vaccines. As the only lentivirus that causes an immunodeficiency resembling that of HIV infection, in its natural host, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) has been a unique and powerful model for AIDS research. FIV was first described in 1987 by Niels Pedersen and co-workers as the causative agent for a fatal immunodeficiency syndrome observed in cats housed in a cattery in Petaluma, California. Since this landmark observation, multiple studies have shown that natural and experimental infection of cats with biological isolates of FIV produces an AIDS syndrome very similar in pathogenesis to that observed for human AIDS. FIV infection induces an acute viremia associated with Tcell alterations including depressed CD4 :CD8 T-cell ratios and CD4 T-cell depletion, peripheral lymphadenopathy, and neutropenia. In later stages of FIV infection, the host suffers from chronic persistent infections that are typically self-limiting in an immunocompetent host, as well as opportunistic infections, chronic diarrhea and wasting, blood dyscracias, significant CD4 T-cell depletion, neurologic disorders, and B-cell lymphomas. Importantly, chronic FIV infection induces a progressive lymphoid and CD4 T-cell depletion in the infected cat. The primary mode of natural FIV transmission appears to be blood-borne facilitated by fighting and biting. However, experimental infection through transmucosal routes (rectal and vaginal mucosa and perinatal) have been well documented for specific FIV isolates. Accordingly, FIV disease pathogenesis exhibits striking similarities to that described for HIV-1 infection.
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
AbstractPrior to the widespread use of vaccination for the control of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection, diagnosis was made by the detection of antibodies against FIV. A number of commercial animal side tests perform quite well for this determination, with positive predictive values between 91 and 100% and negative predictive values between 96 and 100%. Furthermore, results of these tests could be confirmed by western blot analysis of FIV test-positive sera. Currently, a killed whole virus FIV vaccine has been made available to practitioners. Vaccinated cats seroconvert by ELISA and western blot, making presently available diagnostic tests, which rely on antibody detection, useless in cats after vaccination. The advisory panels of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and Academy of Feline Medicine both recommend testing for feline leukemia virus antigen and FIV antibody before vaccination.
Collapse
|
6
|
Terwee JA, Yactor JK, Sondgeroth KS, Vandewoude S. Puma lentivirus is controlled in domestic cats after mucosal exposure in the absence of conventional indicators of immunity. J Virol 2005; 79:2797-806. [PMID: 15708998 PMCID: PMC548441 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.5.2797-2806.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A high percentage of free-ranging pumas (Felis concolor) are infected with feline lentiviruses (puma lentivirus, feline immunodeficiency virus Pco [FIV-Pco], referred to here as PLV) without evidence of disease. PLV establishes productive infection in domestic cats following parenteral exposure but, in contrast to domestic cat FIV, it does not cause T-cell dysregulation. Here we report that cats exposed to PLV oro-nasally became infected yet rapidly cleared peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proviral load in the absence of a correlative specific immune response. Two groups of four specific-pathogen-free cats were exposed to PLV via the mucosal (oro-nasal) or parenteral (i.v.) route. All animals were PBMC culture positive and PCR positive within 3 weeks postinfection and seroconverted without exhibiting clinical disease; however, three or four oro-nasally infected animals cleared circulating proviral DNA within 3 months. Antibody titers reached higher levels in animals that remained persistently infected. PLV antigen-induced proliferation was slightly greater in mucosally inoculated animals, but no differences were noted in cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses or cytokine profiles between groups. The distribution of virus was predominantly gastrointestinal as opposed to lymphoid in all animals in which virus was detected at necropsy. Possible mechanisms for viral clearance include differences in viral fitness required for crossing mucosal surfaces, a threshold dose requirement for persistence, or an undetected sterilizing host immune response. This is the first report of control of a productive feline or primate lentivirus infection in postnatally exposed, seropositive animals. Mechanisms underlying this observation will provide clues to containment of immunodeficiency disease and could prompt reexamination of vaccine-induced immunity against human immunodeficiency virus and other lentiviruses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie A Terwee
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1619, USA
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Allison RW, Hoover EA. Covert vertical transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2003; 19:421-34. [PMID: 12804000 DOI: 10.1089/088922203765551764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Covert vertical transmission of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), the feline counterpart of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), was identified in kittens born to FIV-infected cats. DNA PCR detected FIV gag and env sequences in tissues from kittens nonviable at birth, and in viable kittens monitored postnatally and necropsied at either 11 weeks or 1 year of age. Although FIV DNA was detected in initial blood samples from all 16 viable kittens, viral DNA became increasingly difficult to detect over time and infectious virus could rarely be demonstrated. Only maternal FIV antibody was detected in kitten plasma during the entire postnatal observation period, and kittens remained healthy, with normal CD4:CD8 T cell ratios at >14 months of age. Thus, mother-to-offspring FIV exposure, occurring in utero and postnatally, can result in covert infection in kittens with virus sequestered and contained in tissue sites. These findings appear directly relevant to suspected transient HIV infections and reports of HIV-specific cellular immune responses in highly exposed seronegative adults and uninfected infants born to HIV-positive women.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin W Allison
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Kidney BA, Ellis JA, Haines DM, Jackson ML. Evaluation of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues obtained from vaccine site-associated sarcomas of cats for DNA of feline immunodeficiency virus. Am J Vet Res 2000; 61:1037-41. [PMID: 10976733 DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.2000.61.1037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) DNA, using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, and to use this method to evaluate tissues obtained from vaccine site-associated sarcomas (VSS) of cats for FIV DNA. SAMPLE POPULATION 50 FFPE tissue blocks from VSS of cats and 50 FFPE tissue blocks from cutaneous non-vaccine site-associated fibrosarcomas (non-VSS) of cats. PROCEDURE DNA was extracted from FFPE sections of each tumor and regions of the gag gene of FIV were amplified by a PCR, using 3 sets of primers. Sensitivity of the method was compared between frozen and FFPE tissues, using splenic tissue obtained from a cat that had been experimentally infected with FIV. RESULTS We did not detect FIV DNA in VSS or non-VSS tissues. Sensitivity of the PCR method was identical for frozen or FFPE tissues. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE It is possible to detect FIV DNA in FFPE tissues by use of a PCR. We did not find evidence to support direct FIV involvement in the pathogenesis of VSS in cats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B A Kidney
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Obert LA, Hoover EA. Feline immunodeficiency virus clade C mucosal transmission and disease courses. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2000; 16:677-88. [PMID: 10791878 DOI: 10.1089/088922200308909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The transmissibility and pathogenicity of a clade C feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV-C) was examined via the oral-nasal, vaginal, or rectal mucosa. FIV-C was transmissible by all three mucosal routes. Vaginal transmission was most efficient (100%), oral exposure resulted in a 80% infection rate, and rectal transmission was least effective (44%). In contrast to previous intravenous passage studies, a broader range of host-virus relationships was observed after mucosal exposure. Three categories of FIV-C infection were defined: (1) rapidly progressive infection marked by high virus burdens and rapid CD4+ cell depletion (43% of vaginally exposed animals); (2) conventional (typical) infection featuring slowly progressive CD4+ cell decline (61% of all exposed animals); and (3) regressive (transient) infection marked by low and then barely detectable virus burdens and no CD4+ cell alterations (22% of rectally inoculated cats). These disease courses appear to have parallels in mucosal HIV and SIV infections, emphasizing the importance of the virus-mucosa interface in lentiviral pathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L A Obert
- Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Mitchell TW, Buckmaster PS, Hoover EA, Whalen LR, Dudek FE. Neuron loss and axon reorganization in the dentate gyrus of cats infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus. J Comp Neurol 1999. [DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19990906)411:4<563::aid-cne3>3.0.co;2-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
|
11
|
McChesney MB, Collins JR, Lu D, Lu X, Torten J, Ashley RL, Cloyd MW, Miller CJ. Occult systemic infection and persistent simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-specific CD4(+)-T-cell proliferative responses in rhesus macaques that were transiently viremic after intravaginal inoculation of SIV. J Virol 1998; 72:10029-35. [PMID: 9811741 PMCID: PMC110525 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.72.12.10029-10035.1998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The intact cervicovaginal mucosa is a relative barrier to the sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). In the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) macaque model of HIV infection, seronegative transient viremia (STV; virus isolation positive followed by repeated negative cultures) occurs after intravaginal inoculation of a low dose of pathogenic SIVmac251 (C. J. Miller, M. Marthas, J. Torten, N. Alexander, J. Moore, G. Doncel, and A. Hendrickx, J. Virol. 68:6391-6400, 1994). Thirty-one adult female macaques that had been inoculated intravaginally with pathogenic SIVmac251 became transiently viremic. One monkey that had been culture negative for a year after SIV inoculation became persistently viremic and developed simian AIDS. No other STV monkey developed persistent viremia or disease. Results of very sensitive assays showed that 6 of 31 monkeys had weak SIV-specific antibody responses. SIV-specific antibodies were not detected in the cervicovaginal secretions of 10 STV monkeys examined. Twenty of 26 monkeys had lymphocyte proliferative responses to p55(gag) and/or gp130(env) antigens; 3 of 6 animals, including the monkey that became persistently viremic, had detectable cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses to SIV. At necropsy, lymphoid tissues and vaginal mucosa were virus culture negative, but in 10 of 10 animals, SIV provirus was detected by PCR using gag-specific primer pairs. Fifty percent of the PCR-positive tissue samples were also positive for SIV gag RNA by reverse transcriptase PCR. Thus, transient viremia following intravaginal inoculation of pathogenic SIV is associated with persistent, systemic infection, either latent or very low level productive. Atypical immune responses, characterized by lymphocyte proliferation and some CTL responses in the absence of conventionally detectable antibodies, develop in transiently viremic monkeys.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M B McChesney
- California Regional Primate Research Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Van Rompay KK, Marthas ML, Lifson JD, Berardi CJ, Vasquez GM, Agatep E, Dehqanzada ZA, Cundy KC, Bischofberger N, Pedersen NC. Administration of 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine (PMPA) for prevention of perinatal simian immunodeficiency virus infection in rhesus macaques. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 1998; 14:761-73. [PMID: 9643376 DOI: 10.1089/aid.1998.14.761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of newborn macaques is a useful animal model to explore novel strategies to reduce perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The availability of two easily distinguishable virus isolates, SIVmac251 and the simian/human immunodeficiency virus chimera SHIV-SF33, allows tracing the source of infection following inoculation with both viruses by different routes. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of pre- and postinoculation treatment regimens with 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine (PMPA) to protect newborn macaques against simultaneous oral SIVmac251 and intravenous SHIV-SF33 inoculation. Untreated newborns became persistently infected following virus inoculation. When three pregnant macaques were given a single subcutaneous dose of PMPA 2 hr before cesarean section, their newborns became SIV-infected following SIV and SHIV inoculation shortly after birth. In contrast, when four newborn macaques were inoculated simultaneously with SIV and SHIV, and started immediately on PMPA treatment for 2 weeks, only one animal became persistently SIV-infected; the remaining three PMPA-treated newborns, however, had some evidence of an initial transient virus infection but were seronegative and healthy at 8 months of age. Our data demonstrate that PMPA treatment can reduce perinatal SIV infection and suggest that similar strategies may also be effective against HIV.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K K Van Rompay
- California Regional Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis 95616, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Johnson CM, Papadi GP, Tompkins WA, Sellon RK, Orandle MS, Bellah JR, Bubenik LJ. Biphasic thymus response by kittens inoculated with feline immunodeficiency virus during fetal development. Vet Pathol 1998; 35:191-201. [PMID: 9598582 DOI: 10.1177/030098589803500304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the response of the feline thymus to fetal infection with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), an animal model for human immunodeficiency virus infection. Thirteen feline embryos from four litters were directly inoculated with FIV during the sixth week postbreeding, a period corresponding to the late second trimester of pregnancy. Thymus tissue was collected and analyzed from randomly selected kittens at 2, 4, and 16 weeks postinoculation (PI) and compared to age-matched control kittens that did not receive fetal inoculations. Of three kittens evaluated at 2 weeks PI (week 8 of gestation), neither thymus:body weight ratio nor histologic structure differed from five age-matched control animals. However, analysis of thymocyte subpopulations by flow cytometry revealed a significant (P = 0.011) reduction in the percentage of cluster of differentiation (CD)4+/CD8+ cells from an average of 66% in control fetuses to 45% in infected fetuses. FIV RNA transcription, assessed by in situ hybridization using an FIVgag RNA probe, was widely distributed throughout the thymus in patterns suggestive of both stromal and parenchymal infection. By 4 weeks PI (week 1 postpartum), the thymus:body weight ratio was significantly reduced (P = 0.007) from 0.36% in five control kittens to 0.13% in four fetal inoculates. Severely atrophied thymus lobules supported minimal virus transcription and mean CD4+/CD8+ thymocyte percentages were lower (P = 0.021) in infected kittens (15%) compared to age-matched controls (66%). By 16 weeks PI (week 12 postpartum), thymus:body weight ratios of six inoculated kittens were not significantly different from six age-matched controls, suggesting that partial postnatal thymus regeneration had occurred. However, despite similar size, the regenerative thymus contained reduced percentages of CD4+/CD8+ thymocytes (infected: 40% versus control: 76%; P = 0.009) and increased percentages of CD4+/CD8- (11% versus 5%; P = 0.002) and CD4-/CD8+ (16% versus 9%; P = 0.035) lymphocytes. These changes were associated with widespread FIV transcription within thymic lymphocytes. Thus, the thymus of kittens infected with FIV during late fetal development is characterized by two distinct changes: neonatal atrophy and postnatal regeneration. Despite a recovery in thymus weight, thymus regeneration ineffectively restores the normal phenotypic distribution of thymocytes and supports FIV transcription.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C M Johnson
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610-0145, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|