Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation
<i>Felis catus</i> gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) infects domestic cats worldwide, yet it has not been successfully propagated in cell culture, and little is known about how it is shed and transmitted. To investigate the salivary shedding of FcaGHV1, we quantified FcaGHV1 DNA in feline sal...
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| Materyal Türü: | Makale |
| Dil: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Seri Bilgileri: | Pathogens |
| Konular: | |
| Online Erişim: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/2/111 |
| _version_ | 1827343014625804288 |
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| author | Malcolm A. M. Hill Tracy Satchell Ryan M. Troyer |
| author_facet | Malcolm A. M. Hill Tracy Satchell Ryan M. Troyer |
| author_sort | Malcolm A. M. Hill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Felis catus</i> gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) infects domestic cats worldwide, yet it has not been successfully propagated in cell culture, and little is known about how it is shed and transmitted. To investigate the salivary shedding of FcaGHV1, we quantified FcaGHV1 DNA in feline saliva by qPCR. For FcaGHV1-positive saliva, we sequenced a portion of the viral glycoprotein B (gB) gene and attempted to isolate the infectious virus by passage in several felid and non-felid cell lines. We detected FcaGHV1 DNA in 45/227 (19.8%) saliva samples with variable viral DNA loads from less than 100 to greater than 3 million copies/mL (median 4884 copies/mL). Multiple saliva samples collected from an infected cat over a two-month period were consistently positive, indicating that chronic shedding can occur for at least two months. Cat age, sex, and health status were not associated with shedding prevalence or viral DNA load in saliva. Feral status was also not associated with shedding prevalence. However, feral cats had significantly higher FcaGHV1 DNA load than non-feral cats. Sequencing of FcaGHV1 gB showed low sequence diversity and >99.5% nucleotide identity to the worldwide consensus FcaGHV1 gB sequence. We did not detect virus replication during the passage of FcaGHV1-positive saliva in cell culture, as indicated by consistently negative qPCR on cell lysate and supernatant. To our knowledge, these data show for the first time that cats in Canada are infected with FcaGHV1. The data further suggest that shedding of FcaGHV1 in saliva is common, can occur chronically over an extended period of time, and may occur at higher levels in feral compared to non-feral cats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:18:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a2833ffe46d4e9cb940c0d1e869cb5d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:18:44Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a2833ffe46d4e9cb940c0d1e869cb5d2024-02-23T15:30:14ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172024-01-0113211110.3390/pathogens13020111Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus IsolationMalcolm A. M. Hill0Tracy Satchell1Ryan M. Troyer2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, CanadaLondon Animal Care Centre, London, ON N6K 3T6, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada<i>Felis catus</i> gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1) infects domestic cats worldwide, yet it has not been successfully propagated in cell culture, and little is known about how it is shed and transmitted. To investigate the salivary shedding of FcaGHV1, we quantified FcaGHV1 DNA in feline saliva by qPCR. For FcaGHV1-positive saliva, we sequenced a portion of the viral glycoprotein B (gB) gene and attempted to isolate the infectious virus by passage in several felid and non-felid cell lines. We detected FcaGHV1 DNA in 45/227 (19.8%) saliva samples with variable viral DNA loads from less than 100 to greater than 3 million copies/mL (median 4884 copies/mL). Multiple saliva samples collected from an infected cat over a two-month period were consistently positive, indicating that chronic shedding can occur for at least two months. Cat age, sex, and health status were not associated with shedding prevalence or viral DNA load in saliva. Feral status was also not associated with shedding prevalence. However, feral cats had significantly higher FcaGHV1 DNA load than non-feral cats. Sequencing of FcaGHV1 gB showed low sequence diversity and >99.5% nucleotide identity to the worldwide consensus FcaGHV1 gB sequence. We did not detect virus replication during the passage of FcaGHV1-positive saliva in cell culture, as indicated by consistently negative qPCR on cell lysate and supernatant. To our knowledge, these data show for the first time that cats in Canada are infected with FcaGHV1. The data further suggest that shedding of FcaGHV1 in saliva is common, can occur chronically over an extended period of time, and may occur at higher levels in feral compared to non-feral cats.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/2/111virusherpesviruspropagationfelidfelineferal |
| spellingShingle | Malcolm A. M. Hill Tracy Satchell Ryan M. Troyer Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation Pathogens virus herpesvirus propagation felid feline feral |
| title | Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation |
| title_full | Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation |
| title_fullStr | Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation |
| title_short | Detection of <i>Felis catus</i> Gammaherpesvirus 1 in Domestic Cat Saliva: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Attempted Virus Isolation |
| title_sort | detection of i felis catus i gammaherpesvirus 1 in domestic cat saliva prevalence risk factors and attempted virus isolation |
| topic | virus herpesvirus propagation felid feline feral |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/2/111 |
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