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Feline infectious peritonitis; insights into feline coronavirus pathobiogenesis and epidemiology based on genetic analysis of the viral 3c gene

Utrecht University

¹ E-mail: p.rottier{at}uu.nl

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a lethal systemic disease caused by FIP virus (FIPV), a virulent mutant of apathogenic feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). We analyzed the 3c gene - a proposed virulence marker - in 27 FECV- and 28 FIPV-infected cats. Our findings suggest that functional 3c protein expression is crucial for FECV replication in the gut but dispensable for systemic FIPV replication. While intact in all FECVs, the 3c gene was mutated in the majority (71.4%) but not in all FIPVs, implying that mutation in 3c is not the (single) cause of FIP. Most FIP cats had no detectable intestinal FCoV and had seemingly cleared the primary FECV infection. In those with detectable intestinal FCoV, the virus always had an intact 3c and seemed acquired by FECV superinfection. Apparently, 3c-inactivated viruses do not - or only poorly - replicate in the gut, explaining the rare incidence of FIP outbreaks.

Received 9 September 2009; accepted 29 October 2009.