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Isolation in Italy of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)
C Buonavoglia1, M Tempesta, M G Pennisi
1Istituto di Patologia delle Malattie Infettive e Parassitarie degli animali domestici, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Bari.
Insights
Researchers successfully isolated Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in Italy from an infected cat. This feline virus isolation was achieved using specific cell culture techniques and confirmed through various diagnostic methods.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Virology
- Immunodeficiency Viruses
- Feline Health
Background:
- Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is an important pathogen in domestic cats.
- Understanding FIV transmission and isolation is crucial for feline health management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the successful isolation of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) in Italy.
- To characterize the isolated FIV in cell culture.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of FIV from an experimentally inoculated cat using feline circulating leukocytes.
- Culture stimulation with concanavalin-A and recombinant human interleukin-2.
- Detection of viral activity via cytopathic effects, immunofluorescence, and reverse transcriptase assays.
Main Results:
- Successful isolation of FIV from an infected cat in Italy.
- Observed characteristic cytopathic effects in infected cell cultures.
- Confirmed FIV presence using specific fluorescence and detected reverse transcriptase activity.
Conclusions:
- The study demonstrates the successful isolation and preliminary characterization of FIV in Italy.
- The methods employed are effective for FIV isolation and detection in cell cultures.
- This contributes to the understanding of FIV epidemiology in the region.
Abstract:
The Authors report the isolation in Italy of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) from a cat inoculated with whole blood from a naturally FIV infected cat. The virus was isolated in feline circulating leucocytes cultured in RPMI medium and stimulated with concanavalin-A and recombinant human interleukin-2. The infected cultures showed a characteristic cytopathic effect (ballooning degeneration, giant cell formation, cell death) and a specific fuorescence using FIV-positive cat serum and monoclonal antibodies against FIV. Furthermore, the culture supernatants contained magnesium-dependent reverse transcriptase activity.