Experimental Feline Panleucopenia in the Conventional Cat

Abstract

Absfruct. Conventional kittens, 12-27 weeks old, were inoculated with cell-cultured feline panleucopenia virus and killed sequentially between day 3 and day 24 after inoculation. All developed a non-fatal mild disease between days 2 and 9, characterized by lymphopenia, neutropenia, listlessness, depression and the development of neutralizing antibodies to the virus. Small intestinal bacterial counts were reduced during the period of maximal clinical disease, presumably a result of decreased food intake. There was involution of the thymus with marked depletion of lymphocytes between days 3 and 12. Depletion of lymphocytes also characterized the lesions in the lymph nodes between days 3 and 8. At the same time crypt lesions with spotty distribution were in the small intestinal and colonic mucosa. The changes were loss of crypt epithelial cells with compensatory attenuation of the remaining epithelium. Electron microscopically, the number and size of microvilli and secretory granules were reduced but there was no change indicating lethal cell injury. There were no virus particles. The findings point to an early and transient cellular damage by the virus. Intestinal alkaline phosphatase activity disappeared from the luminal surface of the attenuated crypt epithelial cells. Otherwise, intestinal alkaline and acid phosphatase activity were not altered in inoculated cats.

Prognostic Factors in Cats with Feline Panleukopenia

“…In this study, anemia was not associated with negative outcome, an unexpected finding considering that gastrointestinal blood loss, coinfections (4.8% of cats were infected with FeLV), serious bone marrow suppression, or sepsis‐associated anemia of inflammatory disease 30 represent severe and serious complicating factors. Because of the relatively long life span of erythrocytes, marked anemia is less common in CPV and FPV, unless intestinal blood loss is severe, but nonregenerative anemia can be seen with FPV infection 31,32 . Mild anemia may have been masked by severe dehydration in this study.…”

Achados patológicos e imuno-histoquímicos em felinos domésticos com panleucopenia felina

“…As lesões macroscópicas do intestino delgado e dos linfonodos são descritas na panleucopenia felina, porém, em alguns casos, pode haver alterações mínimas ou podem estar ausentes na necropsia (Larsen et al 1976, Brown et al 2007.…”

Expression of Viral Proteins in Feline Leukemia Virus-associated Enteritis

“…It definitely differs from panleukopenia-like syndrome, PV enteritis, and CoV enteritis; other rare enteric viral infections or specific bacterial, protozoan, or fungal pathogens can also be excluded. 5,6,9,12,13,16,23,28,33,38 FeLV antigens were immunohistologically demonstrated using monoclonal antibodies against the major FeLV proteins, gp70, p27, and p15E, which were examined for their specificity by immunoblots. The results indicated that anti-gp70 binds strongly to gp70, even when the disulfide bonds to the transmembrane protein p15E are still intact.…”

“…Histologic alterations were comparable to those described for FAE and feline PV enteritis. 12,13,28 They were represented by degeneration of crypt epithelial cells, depletion of crypts, dilation of residual crypts, and villous atrophy. In the majority of cats (8/14; 57%), changes were moderate (Fig.…”