title: Relationship of lymphoid lesions to disease course in mucosal feline immunodeficiency virus type C infection.
abstract: Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection typically has a prolonged and variable disease course in cats, which can limit its usefulness as a model for human immunodeficiency virus infection. A clade C FIV isolate (FIV-C) has been associated with high viral burdens and rapidly progressive disease in cats. FIV-C was transmissible via oral-nasal, vaginal, or rectal mucosal exposure, and infection resulted in one of three disease courses: rapid, conventional/slow, or regressive. The severity of the pathologic changes paralleled the disease course. Thymic depletion was an early lesion and was correlated with detection of FIV RNA in thymocytes by in situ hybridization. The major changes in thymic cell populations were depletion of p55+/S100+ dendritic cells, CD3- cells, CD4+/CD8- cells, and CD4+/CD8+ cells and increases in apoptosis, CD45R+ B cells, and lymphoid follicles. In contrast to thymic depletion, peripheral lymphoid tissues often were hyperplastic. Mucosally transmitted FIV-C is thymotropic and induces a spectrum of lymphoid lesions and disease mirroring that seen with the human and simian immunodeficiency virus infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523, USA.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Obert
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Hoover
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D002415:Cats; D003712:Dendrites / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016181:Feline Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000662:veterinary; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling / Q000662:veterinary; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012007:Rectum; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D014621:Vagina / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D012367:RNA, Viral