Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-270, São Paulo, Brazil.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2013 Dec;36(6):549-57. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2013.07.001. Epub 2013 Aug 2.
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection has been the focus of several studies because this virus exhibits genetic and pathogenic characteristics that are similar to those of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). FIV causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in cats, nevertheless, a large fraction of infected cats remain asymptomatic throughout life despite of persistent chronic infection. This slow disease progression may be due to the presence of factors that are involved in the natural resistance to infection and the immune response that is mounted by the animals, as well as due to the adaptation of the virus to the host. Therefore, the study of virus-host interaction is essential to the understanding of the different patterns of disease course and the virus persistence in the host, and to help with the development of effective vaccines and perhaps the cure of FIV and HIV infections.
猫免疫缺陷病毒（FIV）感染一直是多个研究的焦点，因为该病毒具有与人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）相似的遗传和发病特征。FIV 会导致猫患获得性免疫缺陷综合征（AIDS），然而，尽管存在持续性慢性感染，仍有很大一部分感染猫在其一生中都没有表现出症状。这种缓慢的疾病进展可能是由于存在一些因素，这些因素涉及到动物对感染的自然抵抗力和免疫反应，以及病毒对宿主的适应。因此，研究病毒-宿主相互作用对于理解不同的疾病进程模式和病毒在宿主中的持续存在至关重要，并且有助于开发有效的疫苗，甚至可能治愈 FIV 和 HIV 感染。
