IN-VIVO FUNCTIONS OF THE AUXILIARY GENES AND REGULATORY ELEMENTS OF FELINE IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a widespread lentivirus of dome stic cats that causes an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-lik e disease similar to human AIDS caused by human immunodeficiency virus . FIV has a complex genome structure including structural, enzymatic a nd auxiliary genes and regulatory elements. In this article, we review the in vivo roles of some of these FIV auxiliary genes and regulatory elements, especially focusing on the dUTPase, vif, and ORF-A genes an d AP-1 binding site in the enhancer region of the long terminal repeat , by comparison with those of other non-primate lentiviruses. These ge nes and elements are considered to be important for viral replication, immunological response and pathogenesis in cats. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc ience B.V.