title: A feline immunodeficiency virus vif-deletion mutant remains attenuated upon infection of newborn kittens.
abstract: 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-pPPRDeltavif). Virus in peripheral blood, antiviral antibody or CD4 T-cell count alterations were not detected in kittens inoculated with FIV-pPPRDeltavif 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-pPPRDeltavif- and wild-type FIV-pPPR-inoculated kittens and suggested the possibility of a discreet tissue reservoir supporting sustained FIV-pPPRDeltavif 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Leutenegger
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stefano Cole
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Niels C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Sparger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002415:Cats / Q000821:virology*; D016181:Feline Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D016346:Gene Products, vif / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009154:Mutation; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D016346:Gene Products, vif