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Hill MAM, Satchell T, Troyer RM. Detection of Felis catus Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation. Pathogens 2024; 13:111. [PMID: 38392850 PMCID: PMC10891546 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13020111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) infects domestic cats worldwide, yet it has not been successfully propagated in cell culture, and little is known about how it is shed and transmitted. To investigate the salivary shedding of FcaGHV1, we quantified FcaGHV1 DNA in feline saliva by qPCR. For FcaGHV1-positive saliva, we sequenced a portion of the viral glycoprotein B (gB) gene and attempted to isolate the infectious virus by passage in several felid and non-felid cell lines. We detected FcaGHV1 DNA in 45/227 (19.8%) saliva samples with variable viral DNA loads from less than 100 to greater than 3 million copies/mL (median 4884 copies/mL). Multiple saliva samples collected from an infected cat over a two-month period were consistently positive, indicating that chronic shedding can occur for at least two months. Cat age, sex, and health status were not associated with shedding prevalence or viral DNA load in saliva. Feral status was also not associated with shedding prevalence. However, feral cats had significantly higher FcaGHV1 DNA load than non-feral cats. Sequencing of FcaGHV1 gB showed low sequence diversity and >99.5% nucleotide identity to the worldwide consensus FcaGHV1 gB sequence. We did not detect virus replication during the passage of FcaGHV1-positive saliva in cell culture, as indicated by consistently negative qPCR on cell lysate and supernatant. To our knowledge, these data show for the first time that cats in Canada are infected with FcaGHV1. The data further suggest that shedding of FcaGHV1 in saliva is common, can occur chronically over an extended period of time, and may occur at higher levels in feral compared to non-feral cats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malcolm A. M. Hill
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada;
| | | | - Ryan M. Troyer
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada;
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Novacco M, Kohan NR, Stirn M, Meli ML, Díaz-Sánchez AA, Boretti FS, Hofmann-Lehmann R. Prevalence, Geographic Distribution, Risk Factors and Co-Infections of Feline Gammaherpesvirus Infections in Domestic Cats in Switzerland. Viruses 2019; 11:E721. [PMID: 31390829 PMCID: PMC6723517 DOI: 10.3390/v11080721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, a gammaherpesvirus was described in domestic cats (FcaGHV1). The goal of the present study was to investigate the presence of FcaGHV1 in Swiss domestic cats and analyze potential risk factors. Blood samples from 881 cats presented to veterinarians in all Swiss cantons and from 91 stray cats and neoplastic tissue samples from 17 cats with lymphoma were evaluated. FcaGHV1 was detected by real-time PCR targeting the glycoprotein B gene, followed by sequencing. Blood samples were also tested for feline hemoplasmas, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). The molecular prevalence of FcaGHV1 was 6.0% (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.5-7.8%) in cats presented to veterinarians and 5.5% (95% CI, 1.8-12.4%) in stray cats. FcaGHV1 PCR-positive cats originated from 19/26 Swiss cantons. Factors significantly associated with FcaGHV1 detection included male sex, age >3 years, nonpedigree status and co-infection with FIV and hemoplasmas. Moreover, FeLV viremia tended to be associated with FcaGHV1 detection. High FcaGHV1 blood loads were found more frequently in FeLV-viremic cats and less frequently in hemoplasma-infected cats than in uninfected cats. Clinical information was unavailable for most of the 881 cats, but leukemia, carcinoma and cardiomyopathy were reported in FcaGHV1-positive cats. None of the tissue samples from the 17 cats with lymphoma tested positive for FcaGHV1. Sequence analyses revealed homogeneity among the Swiss isolates and >99.7% identity to published FcaGHV1 sequences. In conclusion, FcaGHV1 is present in Switzerland with a similar prevalence in cats presented to veterinarians and in stray cats. The pathogenic potential of FcaGHV1 needs further evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilisa Novacco
- Clinical Laboratory, Department for Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Neda Ranjbar Kohan
- Clinical Laboratory, Department for Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martina Stirn
- Clinical Laboratory, Department for Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marina L Meli
- Clinical Laboratory, Department for Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adrian Alberto Díaz-Sánchez
- Clinical Laboratory, Department for Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria (CENSA), San José de las Lajas 32700, Mayabeque, Cuba
| | - Felicitas S Boretti
- Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Regina Hofmann-Lehmann
- Clinical Laboratory, Department for Clinical Diagnostics and Services, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Clinical Studies, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Aghazadeh M, Shi M, Pesavento PA, Durham AC, Polley T, Donahoe SL, Troyer RM, Barrs VR, Holmes EC, Beatty JA. Transcriptome Analysis and In Situ Hybridization for FcaGHV1 in Feline Lymphoma. Viruses 2018; 10:E464. [PMID: 30200210 PMCID: PMC6165513 DOI: 10.3390/v10090464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2018] [Revised: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Lymphoma is one of the most common malignancies in domestic cats. The lymphomagenic potential of Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1), a common infection in domestic cats, is unknown. In other species, including humans, cellular transformation by gammaherpesviruses is typically mediated by viral genes expressed during latency. We analysed tumour RNA, from diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) appearing in cats coinfected with FcaGHV1 and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) (n = 10), by high throughput transcriptome sequencing and reverse transcription PCR. A limited repertoire of FcaGHV transcripts was identified in five tumors, including homologs of oncogenic latency-associated transcripts, latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA, ORF73) and vFLIP (F7), lytic genes (ORF50, ORF6, ORF59, F10), and an ORF unique to FcaGHV1, F20. In situ hybridization of FIV-associated DLBCLs (n = 9), post-transplant lymphomas (n = 6) and high-grade B and T-cell intestinal lymphomas (n = 8) identified a single case in which FcaGHV1 nucleic acid was detectable. These results demonstrate that FcaGHV1 transcripts can be detected in some FIV-associated lymphomas, but at low copy number, precluding assessment of a potential role for FcaGHV1 in lymphomagenesis. Future investigation of the FcaGHV1 transcriptome in clinical samples might employ viral enrichment and greater sequencing depth to enhance the retrieval of viral reads. Our results suggest prioritization of a subset of intestinal T-cell tumors, large granular lymphocyte lymphoma, for study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdis Aghazadeh
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Mang Shi
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Patricia A Pesavento
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Amy C Durham
- Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Tamsen Polley
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Shannon L Donahoe
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Ryan M Troyer
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada.
| | - Vanessa R Barrs
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Edward C Holmes
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Julia A Beatty
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
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Stutzman-Rodriguez K, Rovnak J, VandeWoude S, Troyer RM. Domestic cats seropositive for Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 are often qPCR negative. Virology 2016; 498:23-30. [PMID: 27540873 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2016.07.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2016] [Revised: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) is a newly described virus that infects domestic cats. To identify FcaGHV1 antigens, we developed an immunofluorescent antibody assay by expressing FcaGHV1 open reading frames (ORFs) in feline cells and incubating fixed cells with sera from FcaGHV1-positive cats. Of the seven ORFs tested, ORF52 and ORF38 had the strongest, most consistent antibody responses. We used recombinant ORF52 and ORF38 proteins to develop two FcaGHV1 ELISAs. These assays were used to detect reactivity in cats previously tested by qPCR for FcaGHV1 in blood cell DNA. Results indicated 32%FcaGHV1seroprevalence, compared to 15%qPCR-evaluated prevalence (n=133);all but one qPCR positive animal was seropositive. ELISA results confirmed infection risk factors previously identified by qPCR: geographic location, male sex, and adult age. These data suggest that FcaGHV1is a common infection of domestic cats that has a seropositive but often qPCR negative state characteristic of herpesviral latency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn Stutzman-Rodriguez
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Joel Rovnak
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Sue VandeWoude
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - Ryan M Troyer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
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