title: Domestic cats seropositive for Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 are often qPCR negative.
abstract: Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) is a newly described virus that infects domestic cats. To identify FcaGHV1 antigens, we developed an immunofluorescent antibody assay by expressing FcaGHV1 open reading frames (ORFs) in feline cells and incubating fixed cells with sera from FcaGHV1-positive cats. Of the seven ORFs tested, ORF52 and ORF38 had the strongest, most consistent antibody responses. We used recombinant ORF52 and ORF38 proteins to develop two FcaGHV1 ELISAs. These assays were used to detect reactivity in cats previously tested by qPCR for FcaGHV1 in blood cell DNA. Results indicated 32%FcaGHV1seroprevalence, compared to 15%qPCR-evaluated prevalence (n=133);all but one qPCR positive animal was seropositive. ELISA results confirmed infection risk factors previously identified by qPCR: geographic location, male sex, and adult age. These data suggest that FcaGHV1is a common infection of domestic cats that has a seropositive but often qPCR negative state characteristic of herpesviral latency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: kathrynroses@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stutzman-Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: joel.rovnak@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rovnak
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: sue.vandewoude@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: VandeWoude
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: Ryan.Troyer@oregonstate.edu.
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Troyer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D002415:Cats; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D018142:Gammaherpesvirinae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral
keywords: Antibody; Antigen; ELISA; Feline; Herpesvirus; ORF38; ORF52; Prevalence; Risk factor; Virus