Abstract

Feline foamy virus (FFV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) belong to the Retroviridae family. While disease has not been reported for FFV infection, FeLV infection can cause anemia and immunosuppression (progressive infection). Co-infection with FFV/FeLV allows evaluation of the pathogenic potential and epidemiology of FFV infection in cats with FeLV pathology. Blood and buccal swab samples from 81 cats were collected in Rio de Janeiro. Plasma was serologically tested for FeLV. DNA extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and buccal swabs was used to PCR detect FFV and FeLV. A qPCR was developed to detect and measure FFV proviral loads (pVLs) in cats. FeLV qPCR was performed using previous methods. The median log10 pVL of FFV mono-infected individuals was lower than found in FFV/FeLV co-infected cats in buccal swabs (p = 0.003). We found 78% of cats had detectable buccal FFV DNA in FFV mono-infected and FFV co-infected FeLV-progressive cats, while in FeLV-regressive cats (those without signs of disease) 22% of cats had detectable buccal FFV DNA (p = 0.004). Our results suggest that regressive FeLV infection may reduce FFV saliva transmission, the main mode of FV transmission. We did not find evidence of differences in pathogenicity in FFV mono- and -dually infected cats. In summary, we show that FVs may interact with FeLV within the same host. Our study supports the utility of cats naturally co-infected with retroviruses as a model to investigate the impact of FV on immunocompromised mammalian hosts.

Details

Title
Clinical and Molecular Features of Feline Foamy Virus and Feline Leukemia Virus Co-Infection in Naturally-Infected Cats
Author
Cavalcante, Liliane T F 1 ; Muniz, Cláudia P 2 ; Jia, Hongwei 3 ; Augusto, Anderson M 4 ; Troccoli, Fernando 4 ; de O Medeiros, Sheila 1 ; Dias, Carlos G A 5 ; Switzer, William M 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Soares, Marcelo A 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Santos, André F 1 

1  Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil 
2  Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-590, Brazil; Programa de Oncovirologia, Instituto Nacional de Câncer, Rio de Janeiro 20231-050, Brazil 
3  Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329-4027, USA 
4  Fundação Rio-Zoo, Parque da Quinta da Boa Vista, S/N, Rio de Janeiro 20940-040, Brazil 
5  CAT (Centro de Atendimento e Terapia) para Gatos, Rua Mariz e Barros, 292, Rio de Janeiro 20270-001, Brazil 
First page
702
Publication year
2018
Publication date
2018
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
19994915
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v10120702
ProQuest document ID
2582921237
Copyright
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.