Feline Morbillivirus Infection Associated With Tubulointerstitial Nephritis in Black Leopards (Panthera pardus)

Abstract

Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is an emerging RNA virus in the Paramyxoviridae family that was recently discovered in domestic cats ( Felis catus). To date, 2 genotypes (FeMV-1 and FeMV-2) have been detected in cats from various countries, and FeMV-1 is recognized as a pathogen associated with nephritis. However, information regarding the pathological roles and potential transmission to other felids is limited. In this article, we describe the identification of FeMV in 2 black leopards ( Panthera pardus) in Thailand that showed severe azotemia and tubulointerstitial nephritis. Molecular analysis of the partial coding sequence of the L gene revealed that these leopard FeMV strains were genetically close to the FeMV-1 isolate from domestic Thai cats. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence analyses using polyclonal IgG antibodies against the FeMV matrix (M) protein showed FeMV-M antigen in renal tubular epithelial cells. These analyses also showed infiltrating lymphocytes in the renal parenchymal lesions and in the cytoplasm of lymphoid cells residing in the spleen, suggesting viral tropism and a possible pathological role. These findings are the first evidence that indicates that the black leopard could be a possible host for FeMV infection. As for other cats, the role of FeMV as a potential cause of renal disease remains to be established. The pathogenesis of FeMV infection in black leopards, or in other wild felids, through a viral transmission mechanism warrants further investigation.

Identification of Novel Feline Paramyxoviruses in Guignas (Leopardus guigna) from Chile

“…Recently, it was shown that domestic cats of Chile have a high seroprevalence for both FeMV genotypes [29]. As mentioned above, black leopards (Panthera pardus) were also shown to be susceptible to FeMV [38], which further support a hypothesis of possible FeMV infections in guignas. The seroprevalence of FeMV in guignas is in accordance with published results from studies of domestic cats from China [14], the UK [17] and Japan [45], although comparison with these investigations may be difficult due to differences in experimental techniques.…”

“…This finding was also supported by in vitro experiments showing that epithelial cells of the lung, alveolar macrophages and brain tissues are permissive for FeMV-2 under laboratory conditions [24,37]. On the other hand, in a recently detected infection of black leopards (Panthera pardus) with FeMV-1, only kidneys were affected [38]. Further studies addressing surveillance of paramyxoviruses in wildlife animals should take into account that organs other than the kidney may also be a target of viral replication and should therefore be sampled to elucidate the complete tissue tropism of these viruses.…”

“…Although the initial description of FeMV was linked to kidney disease in domestic cats [11], no significant differences in histopathology of paramyxovirus-positive and paramyxovirus-negative guignas were seen. In contrast, FeMV-1 infections in black leopards (Panthera pardus) were associated with severe azotemia and tubulointerstitial nephritis [38]. Otherwise, several reports of FeMV infections in domestic cats could not find a distinctive connection to kidney diseases [17,20,37].…”

Renal epitheliotropism of feline morbillivirus in two cats

“…To confirm the concordant results of viral-like particles by TEM and FeMV nucleic acid detected by RT-qPCR, the kidney sections of both cats were subjected to immunohistochemistry (IHC) to determine the presence of FeMV antigen using Pab-His-rFeMV-M. 10,12 Prominent FeMV immunoreactivity was localized in renal tubular epithelial cells, where the eosinophilic, intracytoplasmic, hyalinized globular materials were found (Fig. 4, inset).…”

First detection of Feline morbillivirus infection in white‐eared opossums ( Didelphis albiventris , Lund, 1840), a non‐feline host

“…The FeMV‐1 genotype is closely related to the first FeMV strain identified in China and can infect kidney tissues. Although this genotype was associated with tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in domestic cats and wild cats (Nambulli et al., 2016; Piewbang et al., 2020; Sutummaporn et al., 2019), it was also detected in cats without renal diseases (Darold et al., 2017). Meanwhile, the FeMV‐2, first detected in Germany, is known to infect a wide variety of tissues other than renal cells, including pulmonary and cerebral tissues (Sieg et al., 2019).…”