Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2010 Aug 9;5(8):e12004. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012004.
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus associated with AIDS-like illnesses in cats and has been used as a model for the study of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A feature of HIV and FIV infection is the continually increasing divergence among viral isolates between different individuals, as well as within the same individuals.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The goal of this study was to determine the phylogenetic patterns of viral isolates obtained within the United States (U.S.) by focusing on the variable, V3-V4, region of the FIV envelope gene.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Data indicate that FIV, from within the U.S., localize to four viral clades, A, B, C, and F. Also shown is the geographic isolation of strains where clade A and clade B are found predominately on the west coast; however, clade B is also found throughout the U.S. and represents the predominant clade. This study presents a complete and conclusive analysis of FIV isolates from within the U.S. and may be used as the essential basis for the development of an effective multi-clade vaccine.
猫免疫缺陷病毒（FIV）是一种与猫类艾滋病相关的慢病毒，它已被用作人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）研究的模型。HIV 和 FIV 感染的一个特征是，不同个体之间以及同一个体内部的病毒分离株之间的不断增加的差异性。
方法/主要发现：本研究的目的是通过关注 FIV 包膜基因的可变区 V3-V4 来确定在美国（美国）获得的病毒分离株的系统发育模式。
结论/意义：数据表明，来自美国的 FIV 可分为四个病毒群，A、B、C 和 F。还显示出菌株的地理隔离，其中群 A 和群 B 主要分布在西海岸；然而，群 B 也遍布美国，是主要的群。本研究对美国境内的 FIV 分离株进行了完整而明确的分析，可作为开发有效多群疫苗的重要基础。
