Institute of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 29, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Institute of Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 11, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Viruses. 2019 Feb 9;11(2):146. doi: 10.3390/v11020146.
Paramyxoviruses comprise a large number of diverse viruses which in part give rise to severe diseases in affected hosts. A new genotype of feline morbillivirus, tentatively named feline morbillivirus genotype 2 (FeMV-GT2), was isolated from urine of cats with urinary tract diseases. Whole genome sequencing showed about 78% nucleotide homology to known feline morbilliviruses. The virus was isolated in permanent cell lines of feline and simian origin. To investigate the cell tropism of FeMV-GT2 feline primary epithelial cells from the kidney, the urinary bladder and the lung, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), as well as organotypic brain slice cultures were used for infection experiments. We demonstrate that FeMV-GT2 is able to infect renal and pulmonary epithelial cells, primary cells from the cerebrum and cerebellum, as well as immune cells in the blood, especially CD4⁺ T cells, CD20⁺ B cells and monocytes. The cats used for virus isolation shed FeMV-GT2 continuously for several months despite the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the blood. Our results point towards the necessity of increased awareness for this virus when clinical signs of the aforementioned organs are encountered in cats which cannot be explained by other etiologies.
副黏液病毒包含大量不同的病毒，其中部分病毒在受感染的宿主中引发严重疾病。一种新的猫麻疹病毒基因型，暂定名为猫麻疹病毒基因型 2（FeMV-GT2），从患有尿路感染的猫的尿液中分离出来。全基因组测序显示与已知的猫麻疹病毒有约 78%的核苷酸同源性。该病毒是在猫和猿的永久性细胞系中分离出来的。为了研究 FeMV-GT2 的细胞嗜性，我们使用猫原代肾上皮细胞、膀胱上皮细胞和肺上皮细胞、外周血单核细胞（PBMC）以及器官型脑切片培养物进行了感染实验。我们证明 FeMV-GT2 能够感染肾脏和肺上皮细胞、大脑和小脑的原代细胞，以及血液中的免疫细胞，特别是 CD4⁺ T 细胞、CD20⁺ B 细胞和单核细胞。用于病毒分离的猫尽管血液中存在中和抗体，但仍持续数月排出 FeMV-GT2。我们的研究结果表明，当遇到无法用其他病因解释的上述器官出现临床症状的猫时，应提高对这种病毒的认识。
