%0 Journal Article %A Shen, Xiaoying %A Leutenegger, Christian M. %A Stefano Cole, Kelly %A Pedersen, Niels C. %A Sparger, Ellen E. %T A feline immunodeficiency virus vif-deletion mutant remains attenuated upon infection of newborn kittens %D 2007 %J Journal of General Virology, %V 88 %N 10 %P 2793-2799 %@ 1465-2099 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.83268-0 %I Microbiology Society, %X This report characterizes lentivirus attenuation associated with a vif mutation by inoculation of newborn kittens with a vif-deleted feline immunodeficiency virus provirus plasmid (FIV-pPPRΔvif). Virus in peripheral blood, antiviral antibody or CD4 T-cell count alterations were not detected in kittens inoculated with FIV-pPPRΔvif plasmid, with the exception of one kitten that demonstrated FIV Gag antibody production at 42 weeks after inoculation. In contrast, wild-type FIV-pPPR-infected kittens were viraemic, seropositive and exhibited a decrease in the CD4 T-cell subset in peripheral blood. Interestingly, FIV-specific T-cell proliferative responses detected at 32 and 36 weeks after infection were comparable for both FIV-pPPRΔvif- and wild-type FIV-pPPR-inoculated kittens and suggested the possibility of a discreet tissue reservoir supporting sustained FIV-pPPRΔvif expression or replication. Overall, these findings confirmed that the severe virus attenuation for both replication and pathogenicity exhibited by a vif-deleted FIV mutant is similar for both neonatal and adult hosts. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/vir.0.83268-0