Autologous red cell agglutination test for antibodies to feline immunodeficiency virus

Wilson, K.M., Robinson, W.F., Mitchelhill, K.I., Bundesen, P.G. and Kemp, B.E. (1994) Autologous red cell agglutination test for antibodies to feline immunodeficiency virus. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 42 (3-4). pp. 253-263.

Abstract

The T-lymphotropic lentivirus, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is now recognised as a major viral pathogen affecting domestic cat populations worldwide. A rapid, autologous red cell agglutination test for antibodies to FIV has been developed. A synthetic peptide analog corresponding to the immunodominant epitope within the FIV transmembrane glycoprotein gp40 residues (680-715) KVEAMEKFLYTAFAMQELGC (Acm)NQNQFFK(BrAc)KIPLELWTR was conjugated to an anti-feline erythrocyte antibody using a thio-ether linkage. Within 3 min of adding this reagent to 20 μl of whole blood, circulating antibody to the peptide epitope caused agglutination of the red blood cells. The performance of this simple test is comparable with the two commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kits and an EIA based on this peptide. A variant of the gp40 (680-715) peptide corresponding to the FIV, PPR strain gp40 (678-716) sequence was also synthesised and no difference in reactivity was observed in an EIA on 211 seropositive samples, indicating that the peptide-based test may be applicable to other known strains of the virus.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Veterinary Studies
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/33890

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