Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Disease-specific and tissue-specific production of unintegrated feline leukaemia virus variant DNA in feline AIDS

  • Letter
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Abstract

Feline leukaemia viruses (FeLVs) have long been known to be associated with induction of proliferative and anti-proliferative diseases of domestic cats1. Strains of FeLV have been recognized which specifically induce lymphosarcoma2,3, aplastic anaemia4–6, myelodysplastic anaemia6, and, recently, feline AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), a naturally occurring immunosup-pressive syndrome7 strikingly similar to human AIDS which is lethal in 100% of inoculated and viraemic specific-pathogen-free (SPF) cats8. Here, we have analysed FeLV DNA in tissues of 22 SPF cats that had been inoculated with the feline AIDS strain (FeLV-FAIDS) and we find two classes of viral DNA—a monotypic common form which is detectable in bone marrow regardless of disease state, and variant forms, recognizable by restriction site differences, whose appearance correlates with onset of disease symptoms and persists throughout the course of the disease. FeLV-FAIDS variant DNA is detected at high concentration (10–50 copies per cell) and principally as unintegrated viral DNA (UVD) in bone marrow of cats with feline AIDS. In marked contrast, high levels of UVD were not present in cats in the terminal-stages of T-cell lymphosarcoma, aplastic anaemia, or myelodysplastic anaemia induced by other FeLV strains. These results parallel recent observations in humans, where high levels of UVD were sometimes found in cells derived from AIDS patients infected with human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III)/lymph-adenopathy-associated virus (LAV), and suggest that persistence of unintegrated variant viral DNA is a crucial indicator of retro-virus-induced cytopathic disease syndromes such as AIDS.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hardy, W. D. Jr. in Feline Leukemia Virus (eds Hardy, W. D. Jr, McClelland, A. J. & Essex, M.) 3–78 (Elsevier, New York, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Rickard, C. G., Post, J. E., de Noronha, F. & Barry, L. M. J. natn. Cancer Inst. 42, 987–1014 (1969).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hoover, E. A., Perryman, L. E. & Kociba, G. J. Cancer Res 33, 145–152 (1973).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hoover, E. A. et al. J. natn. Cancer Inst. 53, 1271–1276 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mackey, L., Jarrett, W., Jarrett, O. & Laird, H. J. natn. Cancer Inst. 54, 209–217 (1975).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Riedel, N., Hoover, E. A., Gasper, P. W., Nicolson, M. O. & Mullins, J. I. J. Virol. (submitted).

  7. Hardy, W. D. in Human T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Virus (eds Gallo, R. C., Essex, M. E. & Gross, L.) 35–43 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hoover, E. A., Mullins, J. I., Gasper, P. W. & Quackenbush, S. L. Science (submitted).

  9. Mullins, J. I., Brody, D. S., Binari, R. C. Jr & Cotter, S. M. Nature 308, 856–858 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Mullins, J. I. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 8, 3287–3305 (1980).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Sherr, C. J. et al. in Feline Leukemia Virus (eds Hardy, W. D. Jr, McClelland, A. J. & Essex, M.) 293–307 (Elsevier, New York, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Varmus, H. & Swanstrom, R. in RNA Tumour Viruses (eds Weiss, R., Teich, N., Varmus, H. & Coffin, J.) 369–512 (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1982).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Robinson, H. L. & Miles, B. D. Virology 141, 130–143 (1985).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Herr, W. & Gilbert, W. J. Virol. 50, 155–162 (1984).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Keshet, E. & Temin, H. M. J. Virol. 31, 376–388.

  16. Weller, S. K. & Temin, H. M. J. Virol. 39, 713–721 (1981).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Harris, J. D. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 7212–7215 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Gallo, R. C. et al. Science 224, 500–503 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Shaw, G. M. et al. Science 226, 1165–1171 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Sarma, P. S. et al. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol Med. 14, 757–762 (1974).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Jarrett, O. in Feline Leukemia Virus (eds Hardy, W. D. Jr, McClelland, A. J. & Essex, M.) 473–479 (Elsevier, New York, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Gonda, M. A. et al. Science 227, 173–177 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Waalwijk, C. & Flavell, R. A. Nucleic Acids. Res. 5, 3231–3236 (1978).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Mullins, J. I. et al. J. Virol. 38, 688–703 (1981).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Hirt, B. J. molec. Biol. 26, 365–369 (1967).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cancer Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    James I. Mullins & Carol S. Chen

  2. Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Ft Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    Edward A. Hoover

Authors
  1. James I. Mullins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carol S. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Edward A. Hoover
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mullins, J., Chen, C. & Hoover, E. Disease-specific and tissue-specific production of unintegrated feline leukaemia virus variant DNA in feline AIDS. Nature 319, 333–336 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/319333a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/319333a0

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation