Genetic and antigenic heterogeneity among feline calicivirus isolates from distinct disease manifestations.

The capsid protein genes of five feline calicivirus (FCV) isolates associated with different disease manifestations were cloned and sequenced. The viruses represented two recent isolates from cats with chronic stomatitis, one recent isolate from a cat with acute stomatitis, one recent isolate each from a cat with acute respiratory symptoms and the classical limping syndrome strain FCV-2280. The amino acid sequences were compared with eight other published sequences and analyzed for their relationships. Phylogenetic analysis of the complete capsid protein sequences or of known antigenic regions of that protein (hypervariable regions A and E) did not group the isolates of different disease manifestations in distinct subclusters. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) generated against either a chronic stomatitis isolate or a recent isolate associated with respiratory symptoms were tested against a panel of 11 recent isolates and four "classical' FCV strains, covering all known disease associations. With those MAbs no obvious clustering with respect to disease manifestation could be seen. Four specific sera prepared in rabbits against our prototype isolates also failed to cluster those isolates according to the disease manifestations when examined in neutralization tests. From these antigenic and genetic analyses of the capsid protein the hypothesis of the existence of biotypes of FCV responsible for distinct disease manifestations could not be confirmed.