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A feline immunodeficiency virus vif-deletion mutant remains attenuated upon infection of newborn kittens

Xiaoying Shen^1,

Christian M. Leutenegger^1,

¹ Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
² Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA

Correspondence
Ellen E. Sparger
eesparger{at}ucdavis.edu

This report characterizes lentivirus attenuation associated with a vif mutation by inoculation of newborn kittens with a vif-deleted feline immunodeficiency virus provirus plasmid (FIV-pPPRvif). Virus in peripheral blood, antiviral antibody or CD4 T-cell count alterations were not detected in kittens inoculated with FIV-pPPRvif plasmid, with the exception of one kitten that demonstrated FIV Gag antibody production at 42 weeks after inoculation. In contrast, wild-type FIV-pPPR-infected kittens were viraemic, seropositive and exhibited a decrease in the CD4 T-cell subset in peripheral blood. Interestingly, FIV-specific T-cell proliferative responses detected at 32 and 36 weeks after infection were comparable for both FIV-pPPRvif- and wild-type FIV-pPPR-inoculated kittens and suggested the possibility of a discreet tissue reservoir supporting sustained FIV-pPPRvif expression or replication. Overall, these findings confirmed that the severe virus attenuation for both replication and pathogenicity exhibited by a vif-deleted FIV mutant is similar for both neonatal and adult hosts.

Present address: Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.

Present address: IDEXX Laboratories, 2825 KOVR Drive, West Sacramento, CA 95605, USA.