FIV cross-species transmission: An evolutionary prospective

Abstract

Feline and primate immunodeficiency viruses (FIVs, SIVs, and HIV) are transmitted via direct contact (e.g. fighting, sexual contact, and mother-offspring transmission). This dynamic likely poses a behavioral barrier to cross-species transmission in the wild. Recently, several host intracellular anti-viral proteins that contribute to species-specificity of primate lentiviruses have been identified revealing adaptive mechanisms that further limit spread of lentiviruses between species. Consistent with these inter-species transmission barriers, phylogenetic evidence supports the prediction that FIV transmission is an exceedingly rare event between free-ranging cat species, though it has occurred occasionally in captive settings. Recently we documented that puma and bobcats in Southern California share an FIV strain, providing an opportunity to evaluate evolution of both viral strains and host intracellular restriction proteins. These studies are facilitated by the availability of the 2X cat genome sequence annotation. In addition, concurrent viral and host genetic analyses have been used to track patterns of migration of the host species and barriers to transmission of the virus within the African lion. These studies illustrate the utility of FIV as a model to discover the variables necessary for establishment and control of lentiviral infections in new species. Keywords FIV; lentiviruses; cross-species transmission Mini reviewFeline immunodeficiency virus in domestic cats (FIVfca) produces an AIDS like pathology characterized by CD4 depletion, immune suppression, and death (Bendinelli et al., 1995;Willett et al., 1997). As such, it is the only natural model for HIV/AIDS. Similar to the primate lentiviruses, closely related FIVs circulate in non-domestic cat species (Olmsted et al., 1992;Troyer et al., 2005). While antibodies that cross-react to FIV are detectable at a low percentage in most feline species and in the Hyeanidae , little is known about these Jennifer Troyer, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, SAIC_Frederick, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, NIC-Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, Telephone: 301-846-7478, Fax: 301-846-1909, jtroyer@ncifcrf.gov. Conflict of Interest Statement:None of the authors has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the paper entitled "FIV cross-species transmission: an evolutionary prospective".Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. In the absence of comprehensive datasets, what can be discerned about these non-domestic cat lentiviruses and how does this knowl...

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Vif N-Terminal Residues Selectively Counteract Feline APOBEC3s

“…7A). It was described that FIVs from several felid species showed genetic divergence, which suggests virus-host adaptations and rare cross-species transmissions in the wild (35,63). Thus, we analyzed the Vif sequences of additional domestic cat FIV strains and Vifs from several nondomestic cat FIVs.…”

“…It is known that the pandemic of HIV originated from cross-species transmission events of SIVs to hu-mans (34). As described in relation to interspecies infections of primate lentiviruses, cross-species transmission of FIV between several Felidae were observed (35). For example, pumas are described as being occasionally infected by FIVs of domestic cats and bobcats, and the lion FIV can be transmitted to tigers and leopards (36)(37)(38)(39)(40).…”

“…For example, pumas are described as being occasionally infected by FIVs of domestic cats and bobcats, and the lion FIV can be transmitted to tigers and leopards (36)(37)(38)(39)(40). However, phylogenetic evidence indicates that these FIV transmissions are exceedingly rare events between wildlife cat species, and restriction factors of the host may act as a barrier preventing the spread of FIV (35,41,42).…”

Truncation of TRIM5 in the Feliformia Explains the Absence of Retroviral Restriction in Cells of the Domestic Cat

“…Although dogs are currently thought to be free of exogenous retroviruses, high titers of replicating FIV can be obtained in canine cells expressing the FIV receptor CD134 (52), suggesting a lack of intracellular defense (and potential vulnerability) to lentiviruses. Molecular phylogenies of FIV from divergent feliforms broadly reflect phylogenies of the host, suggesting that crossspecies transmission is relatively rare (49). However, this may owe more to the lack of interspecies contact than to robust defenses, given that cross-species transmission of FIV has been observed frequently in captive animals (7,50) and transmission of both FIV and FeLV has been observed in isolated examples of free-ranging animals (11,23,28).…”

Sequence variation of the feline immunodeficiency virus genome and its clinical relevance

“…The abbreviation ‘FIV’ is used throughout this review to refer to the group of viruses that infect domestic cats, FIVfca. Other closely related viruses within the FIV species may infect other feline hosts, and these are named accordingly in the literature (eg, FIVaju, which infect cheetahs and FIVppa, which infect leopards) (Troyer and others 2008). Within the group FIVfca, there is much variation in the genomic sequences of individual viruses.…”