We have vaccinated cats with fixed autologous FIV infected PBMC to determine whether autologous presentation of antigen is capable of inducing a protective immune response against homologous challenge. To this end autologous PBMC were infected with a FIV molecular clone (19k1). When infection was established, cells were inactivated by dialysis against paraformaldehyde. Upon vaccination, cats developed a virus specific immune response as measured by ELISA against the Gag protein of FIV. No antibodies against the envelope protein were detected with a peptide ELISA. Virus neutralizing antibodies however could be detected with a neutralization assay based on infection of CrFK cells, but not in an assay based on infection of primary T-cells. Although vaccination led to the induction of these virus-specific immune responses, vaccinated cats were not protected against homologous challenge but showed an accelerated viraemia upon infection. This was shown both by PCR and cell-associated viral load. The possible mechanisms underlying this observation are discussed in this paper.

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doi.org/10.1016/S0165-2427(98)00166-4, hdl.handle.net/1765/3659
Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Karlas, J., Siebelink, K., van Peer, M., Huisman, W., Rimmelzwaan, G., & Osterhaus, A. (1998). Accelerated viraemia in cats vaccinated with fixed autologous FIV-infected cells. Abstract 2nd International Feline Immunology Workshop, 31 July-3 August 1997, Davis, USA. In Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology (Vol. 65, pp. 353–365). doi:10.1016/S0165-2427(98)00166-4