Shedding of feline immunodeficiency virus in semen of domestic cats during acute infection.
OBJECTIVE
To examine shedding of cell-free and cell-associated feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in semen of domestic cats during acute infection.


METHODS
7 specific-pathogen-free sexually intact male cats.


METHODS
6 cats were inoculated IV with 5 x 10(6) 50% tissue culture infective doses of FIV-NCSU1, and 1 cat served as an uninfected (control) cat. Infection was confirmed in the 6 cats. Periodically for up to 16 weeks after inoculation, cats were anesthetized and ejaculates obtained by use of electroejaculation. Virus was isolated from filtered seminal plasma and washed seminal cells by co-cultivation with a feline CD4+ T-cell line. Seminal cell lysates were also examined for a 582-base pair segment of FIV gag provirus DNA, using a nested polymerase chain reaction amplification.


RESULTS
During the acute phase of FIV infection, virus was evident in semen of 5 inoculated cats. Five cats had virus-positive seminal plasma and 3 had virus-positive cellular constituents during the study. Virus was isolated from 8/22 (36%) seminal plasma samples and 2/17 (18%) seminal cell specimens. Provirus DNA was detected in 5/24 (21%) seminal cell lysates. Cell-free virus was isolated as early as 6 weeks after inoculation, whereas cell-associated virus was isolated as early as 12 weeks after inoculation. Provirus DNA was detected in seminal cells from one cat as early as 1 week after inoculation.


CONCLUSIONS
Cell-free and cell-associated FIV are shed in semen of cats early during the course of infection. Samples obtained before seroconversion may contain virus. Virus shedding in ejaculates varies between and within cats during acute infection.
Department of Microbiology, Pathology, and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27606, USA.
H L
HL
Jordan
Y
Y
Liang
L C
LC
Hudson
W A
WA
Tompkins
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio / Q000662:veterinary; D002415:Cats; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D016181:Feline Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012661:Semen / Q000821:virology*; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D017201:Virus Shedding
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral