Humoral immune responses of cats to feline leukemia virus: comparison of responses to the major structural protein p30 and to a virus-specific cell membrane antigen (FOCMA).

Radioimmunoprecipitation was used to test cat sera for ability to bind to the purified major internal protein p30 of feline leukemia viurs (FeLV), to the endogenous cat virus (RD-114), and to murine leukemia virus (MuLV). The data were compared with results of tests for antibody to the feline oncornavirus-associated cell membrane antigen FOCMA and for the presence of viremia. In contrast to the general lack of free antibody to FeLV p30 in a random sample of healthy cats, high levels of antibody to FeLV p30 and FOCMA were found in normal animals from high-leukemia-cluster households. Titers of greater than or equal to 200 for p30 and greater than or equal to 32 for FOCMA were found in nonviremic animals; a percentage of animals with high FOCMA titers and lower or no p30 binding activity were viremic. Animals with neoplasms were low or negative for FOCMA antibody and did not have high titers of free p30 antibody. The p30 binding activity could be divided into three main categories: high binding with FeLV p30 and much lower activity with RD-114 and MuLV p30's, as seen with hyperimmune sera; high binding with FeLV and RD-114 p30's and low activity with MuLV p30, possibly indicative of specific antibody to both of the aforementioned proteins; and low level binding to all three p30's.