Expression of CXCR4 in the brain of feline immunodeficiency virus infected cat.

Advances in understanding the mechanisms of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 entry have revealed that the cell surface CD4 expression alone is insufficient and needs an additional molecule on its surface for the viral entry. These are G-protein coupled seven transmembrane (7-TM) family molecules (chemokine receptor) and amongst them one is CXCR4. Feline homologue of CXCR4 acting as a co-receptor for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) entry is already reported for the Crandle feline kidney cells strain (CrFK) of FIV. An experiment was carried out to search the expression of CXCR4 retrospectively in FIV (CrFK) infected cat brain tissues using immunohistochemically in the formalin fixed paraffin sections against 12G5, a mouse monoclonal antibody to CXCR4. We observed the expression of this receptor in feline neurons, astrocytes and in some vascular endothelial cells. The study of expression of CXCR4 in the brain, which is one of the many chemokine receptors in the central nervous system, may provide further insight into the interactions between brain cells, pathogens, and the immune system, and help understand the pathogenesis of HIV dementia.

Virus de la inmunodeficiencia felina: producción de interferón gamma en cultivos de linfocitos T infectados / Feline immunodeficiency virus infection: interferon gamma secretion in a T-lymphoblastoid infected cell line

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) was first isolated in 1987 from a cat with an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-like disease. Since then, FIV has been subject of intensive research. Perturbation in cytokine production observed in human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) is paralleled in the FIV-infected cat. Interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) is a type 1 lymphokine that exert protective effects during infection through upregulation of cellular immunity and phagocytic functions. The present study was carried out to examine the expression of IFN-gamma in a feline T-lymphoid cell line (Fel-039) infected with FIV as well as the viral replication in these cells after addition of recombinant-type feline IFN (rIFn). We found a marked inhibition of IFN-gamma release in Fel-039 cells infected with FIV which might be pivotal for high viral replication. Infection of Fel-039 cells with FIV resulted in an increase of the reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in the culture supernatant. When the cells were cultured in the presence of rIFN a significant dose-dependent inhibition of RT activity of FIV was detected without cytotoxicity. On the basis of these in vitro results, we suggest that IFN therapies aimed at restoring depleted level of this important cytokine in FIV infected T-cells make this compound a promising candidate for development of suitable drugs for AIDS treatment.