This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Flynn, J. N. Articles by Bendinelli, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Flynn, J. N. Articles by Bendinelli, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, June 2005, p. 736-745, Vol. 12, No. 6
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.6.736-745.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Adoptive Immunotherapy of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus with Autologous Ex Vivo-Stimulated Lymphoid Cells Modulates Virus and T-Cell Subsets in Blood

Retrovirus Center, Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy,¹ Institute of Comparative Medicine, Retrovirus Research Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom²

Received 2 December 2004/ Returned for modification 22 February 2005/ Accepted 16 March 2005

The potential of immunotherapy with autologous virus-specific T cells to affect the course of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection was explored in a group of specific-pathogen-free cats infected with FIV a minimum of 10 months earlier. Popliteal lymph node cells were stimulated by cocultivation with UV-inactivated autologous fibroblasts infected with recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing either FIV gag or env gene products, followed by expansion in interleukin-2. One or two infusions of both Gag- and Env-stimulated cells resulted in a slow increase in FIV-specific gamma interferon-secreting T cells in the circulation of cats. In the same animals, viral set points fluctuated widely during the first 2 to 3 weeks after adoptive transfer and then returned to pretreatment levels. The preexisting viral quasispecies was also found to be modulated, whereas no novel viral variants were detected. Circulating CD4⁺ counts underwent a dramatic decline early after treatment. CD4/CD8 ratios remained instead essentially unchanged and eventually improved in some animals. In contrast, a single infusion of Gag-stimulated cells alone produced no apparent modulations of infection.