Jg. Bucci et al., MUCOSALLY TRANSMITTED FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS INDUCES A CD8(-ASSOCIATED VIRUS() ANTIVIRAL RESPONSE THAT CORRELATES WITH REDUCTION OF CELL), The Journal of infectious diseases, 177(1), 1998, pp. 18-25
Intravaginal inoculation of cats with feline immunodeficiency virus (F
IV) results in acute systemic infection accompanied by a strong CD8(+)
immune response that inhibits viral replication, CD8(+) anti-FIV acti
vity, revealed by increased FIV replication in peripheral blood mononu
clear cells (PBMC) depleted of CD8(+) lymphocytes, was detected by 6 w
eeks after inoculation and correlated with reduced PBMC-associated vir
us at 12, 16, and 32 weeks after inoculation, Some cats with strong CD
8(+) anti-FIV activity during acute infection did not seroconvert and
yielded no evidence of FIV infection at later times, These data sugges
t that CD8(+) immunity may play a major role in eliminating virus duri
ng primary transmucosal FIV infection and may down-regulate viral repl
ication during asymptomatic infection.