Strategies of retrovirus survival in the cat

Retroviruses establish persistent infections in their hosts which often lead to serious and fatal diseases after a long incubation period. The molecular basis of this persistence is the integration of a copy of the viral genome into cellular chromosomal DNA. At the level of the whole animal, however, each retrovirus genus has evolved a different strategy to ensure its survival. This variety is well illustrated in the cat. Feline leukaemia virus, an oncovirus, has a simple genomic structure and survives in its host by suppressing the immune response to the virus. As a result, this virus is antigenically highly conserved. By contrast, feline immunodeficiency virus and feline foamy virus, representatives of the lentiviruses and spumaviruses, respectively, have more complex genomes which include genes responsible for maintaining the virus in a latent state thereby avoiding elimination in the face of a powerful antiviral immune response. In the lentiviruses, this response drives the selection of viruses exhibiting variation in antigenicity and pathogenicity.