Feline Foamy Virus Infection: Characterization of Experimental Infection and Prevalence of Natural Infection in Domestic Cats with and without Chronic Kidney Disease
Carmen Ledesma-Feliciano,
Ryan M. Troyer,
Xin Zheng,
Craig Miller,
Rachel Cianciolo,
Matteo Bordicchia,
Nicholas Dannemiller,
Roderick Gagne,
Julia Beatty,
Jessica Quimby,
Martin Löchelt,
Sue VandeWoude
Affiliations
Carmen Ledesma-Feliciano
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Ryan M. Troyer
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Xin Zheng
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Craig Miller
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Rachel Cianciolo
Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Matteo Bordicchia
Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Nicholas Dannemiller
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Roderick Gagne
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Julia Beatty
Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Jessica Quimby
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Martin Löchelt
Department of Viral Transformation Mechanisms, Research Program Infection, Inflammation and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 242, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Sue VandeWoude
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Foamy viruses (FVs) are globally prevalent retroviruses that establish apparently apathogenic lifelong infections. Feline FV (FFV) has been isolated from domestic cats with concurrent diseases, including urinary syndromes. We experimentally infected five cats with FFV to study viral kinetics and tropism, peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) phenotype, urinary parameters, and histopathology. A persistent infection of primarily lymphoid tropism was detected with no evidence of immunological or hematologic perturbations. One cat with a significant negative correlation between lymphocytes and PBMC proviral load displayed an expanded FFV tissue tropism. Significantly increased blood urea nitrogen and ultrastructural kidney changes were noted in all experimentally infected cats, though chemistry parameters were not outside of normal ranges. Histopathological changes were observed in the brain, large intestine, and other tissues. In order to determine if there is an association of FFV with Chronic Kidney Disease, we additionally screened 125 Australian pet cats with and without CKD for FFV infection and found that FFV is highly prevalent in older cats, particularly in males with CKD, though this difference was not statistically significant compared to controls. Acute FFV infection was clinically silent, and while some measures indicated mild changes, there was no overt association of FFV infection with renal disease.
