Abstract
Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a pathogenic virus commonly found in cats that causes a benign enteric illness and fatal systemic disease, feline infectious peritonitis. The development of serological diagnostic tools for FCoV is helpful for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) to detect antibodies against FCoV using histidine-tagged recombinant spike protein. FCoV S protein (1127–1400 aa) was expressed and used as an antigen to establish an ELISA. Mice and rabbits immunized with the protein produced antibodies that were recognized and bound to the protein. The intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) was 1.15–5.04% and the inter-assay CV was 4.28–15.13%, suggesting an acceptable repeatability. iELISA did not cross-react with antisera against other feline viruses. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an 86.7% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity for iELISA. Serum samples (n = 107) were tested for anti-FCoV antibodies, and 70.09% of samples were positive for antibodies against FCoV. The iELISA developed in our study can be used to measure serum FCoV antibodies due to its acceptable repeatability, sensitivity, and specificity. Additionally, field sample analysis data demonstrated that FCoV is highly prevalent in cat populations in Fujian province, China.
Highlights
Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the familyCoronaviridae and genus Alphacoronavirus, which is frequently found in cats [1]
S protein was selected in this study
C-terminal of protein was selected in this study (Supplementary tary Materials), and this was named as FCoV-SP
Summary
Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the familyCoronaviridae and genus Alphacoronavirus, which is frequently found in cats [1]. Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the family. FCoV exhibits two pathogenic forms: one causes subclinical or mild intestinal infections and the other causes fatal feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). The low-virulence form is called feline enteric coronavirus (FECV), while the high-virulence form is called feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) [2]. FIPV infections have a high fatality rate, and infected cats die within a short time [3]. FIPV has enhanced monocyte/macrophage tropism, which is reflected in the continuous monocyte replication and subsequent activation. These activated monocytes carry the virus in the blood and, due to complex interactions with endothelial cells, lead to granulomatous phlebitis, a hallmark of FIP [4]
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