Puma Lentivirus Research Articles

Infectivity of lion and puma lentiviruses for domestic cats.

Infection of domestic cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes progressive immunological deterioration similar to that caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Lentiviruses related to but phylogenetically distinct from FIV have been detected in several non-domestic feline species. Serological cross-reactivity of these viruses raises the question as to whether inter-species transmission may occur. To address this issue, we asked whether lion lentivirus (FIV-Ple) or two strains of puma lentivirus (FIV-Pco) could replicate or cause disease in domestic cats. We found that domestic cats inoculated with FIV-Ple developed persistent cell-associated viraemia, transient cell-free viraemia and antiviral antibody. Clinical disease was not detected throughout a 6 month observation period. Two of four cats inoculated with FIV-Pco developed cell-associated viraemia, seroconverted and exhibited transient lymphadenopathy. No changes in white blood cell parameters or other haematological abnormalities were detected in any of the infected cats. Virus-specific RNA was detected in co-cultivated lymphocytes of all infected cats by RT-PCR. These findings reveal that non-domestic cat lentiviruses are infectious for domestic cats and can establish persistent infection in the absence of disease.

Proviral Organization and Sequence Analysis of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Isolated from a Pallas' Cat

The nucleotide sequence and genomic organization have been determined for a highly cytopathic feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) isolated from a Pallas' cat. The 9747-bp provirus of this virus, FIV-Oma, has typical lentivirus organization with LTRs,gag, pol,andenvopen reading frames (ORFs), putativevifandrevORFs, and an ORF similar to ORF2/ORFA of domestic cat FIV isolates. Although the FIV-Oma provirus is 300 to 600 bp longer than other FIV proviruses, these additional bases are distributed throughout the genome. Phylogenetic analysis of a conserved region of thepolgene suggests that FIV-Oma is more closely related to some of the puma and lion lentiviruses than it is to domestic cat FIV isolates; however, many regions of the genome exhibit extensive nucleotide sequence divergence. None of the eight molecular proviral clones isolated from a genomic library are infectious, but we have constructed an infectious, cytopathic clone of FIV-Oma from subcloned and PCR-amplified fragments of these proviral clones. This clone will be useful for identifying the genetic determinants of FIV-Oma's biological activities.

Nucleotide Sequence Analysis of Puma Lentivirus (PLV-14): Genomic Organization and Relationship to Other Lentiviruses

The complete nucleotide sequence of an isolate of puma lentivirus (PLV-14) was obtained by an inverse polymerase chain reaction (I-PCR) technique and confirmed by conventional PCR. Both methods were used to amplify overlapping regions of proviral DNA, for cloning and sequencing, from genomic DNA isolated from PLV-14 infected Florida puma (Felis concolor coryi) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The provirus has a total length of 9100 nucleotides and the genomic organization of presumed protein coding regions are similar to those seen in other members of the lentivirus family, i.e., three large open reading frames gag, pol, and env as well as smaller intergenic regions that apparently encode regulatory proteins vif and 3′ rev by positional and sequence similarity to those seen in other lentiviruses. Two additional open reading frames were identified in the env region and their function (if any) is unknown. The length of the PLY-14 long terminal repeat (LTR) was found to be shorter than the LTRs of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). The sequence homology between PLV-14 and other lentiviruses demonstrates that PLV-14 is most closely related to FIV from domestic cats. However, the extent of sequence divergence of each retroviral gene segment is large (e,g., percentage sequence similarity between FIV and PLV-14 env is 8% amino acid and 37% nucleotide similarity), indicating relatively ancient divergence of these feline lentiviral genomes.

Virus-Specific Helper T Cell Response of Macaques Immunized with Inactivated Whole SIV Is Not Correlated with Reactivity against Cellular Components of Vaccine Preparation

AIDS Research and Human RetrovirusesVol. 10, No. 4 Virus-Specific Helper T Cell Response of Macaques Immunized with Inactivated Whole SIV Is Not Correlated with Reactivity against Cellular Components of Vaccine PreparationUlf Dittmer, Wolfgang Lüke, Christiane Stahl-Hennig, Gerhard Hunsmann, and Deutsches PrimatenzentrumUlf DittmerSearch for more papers by this author, Wolfgang LükeSearch for more papers by this author, Christiane Stahl-HennigSearch for more papers by this author, Gerhard HunsmannSearch for more papers by this author, and Deutsches PrimatenzentrumSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:16 Mar 2009https://doi.org/10.1089/aid.1994.10.329AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail "Virus-Specific Helper T Cell Response of Macaques Immunized with Inactivated Whole SIV Is Not Correlated with Reactivity against Cellular Components of Vaccine Preparation." , 10(4), pp. 329–330FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byNonpathogenic Lion and Puma Lentiviruses Impart Resistance to Superinfection by Virulent Feline Immunodeficiency VirusJAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Vol. 29, No. 1T-helper reactivity to simian immunodeficiency virus gag synthetic peptides in human immunodeficiency virus type 2 infected individualsJournal of Medical Virology, Vol. 47, No. 2 Volume 10Issue 4Apr 1994 To cite this article:Ulf Dittmer, Wolfgang Lüke, Christiane Stahl-Hennig, Gerhard Hunsmann, and Deutsches Primatenzentrum.Virus-Specific Helper T Cell Response of Macaques Immunized with Inactivated Whole SIV Is Not Correlated with Reactivity against Cellular Components of Vaccine Preparation.AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.Apr 1994.329-330.http://doi.org/10.1089/aid.1994.10.329Published in Volume: 10 Issue 4: March 16, 2009PDF download

Worldwide prevalence of lentivirus infection in wild feline species: epidemiologic and phylogenetic aspects.

The natural occurrence of lentiviruses closely related to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in nondomestic felid species is shown here to be worldwide. Cross-reactive antibodies to FIV were common in several free-ranging populations of large cats, including East African lions and cheetahs of the Serengeti ecosystem and in puma (also called cougar or mountain lion) populations throughout North America. Infectious puma lentivirus (PLV) was isolated from several Florida panthers, a severely endangered relict puma subspecies inhabiting the Big Cypress Swamp and Everglades ecosystems in southern Florida. Phylogenetic analysis of PLV genomic sequences from disparate geographic isolates revealed appreciable divergence from domestic cat FIV sequences as well as between PLV sequences found in different North American locales. The level of sequence divergence between PLV and FIV was greater than the level of divergence between human and certain simian immunodeficiency viruses, suggesting that the transmission of FIV between feline species is infrequent and parallels in time the emergence of HIV from simian ancestors.