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Previous experimental studies utilizing human recombinant interferon-alpha-2b (IFNalpha-2b) alone or with zidovudine (AZT) to treat established feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection resulted in a significant reduction in circulating virus throughout a 49-day treatment period. However, the anti-FeLV effect of IFNalpha was limited by the production of IFNalpha-neutralizing antibodies detected 7 weeks after the start of treatment. AZT without IFNalpha had no effect on circulating virus load. To examine the hypothesis that combination chemoimmunotherapy might induce the clearance of FeLV infection, persistently infected cats were infused with activated lymphocytes, IFNalpha, and AZT 12 weeks after infection with FeLV. Recipient cats received weekly infusions of 1.46 x 10(8) lymphocytes activated in vitro with lectin/IL-2 comprised of 98% T cells and an even distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes. FeLV infection was cleared in 4 of 9 cats receiving combined therapy after four adoptive cell transfers. These cats remained negative for circulating virus during a 63-day treatment period (17 adoptive cell transfers) despite the production of anti-IFNalpha-neutralizing antibodies. Sequential development of virus-neutralizing and virus envelope antibody titers were detected in those cats which cleared retroviremia, an antiviral response that was absent in untreated control animals or nonresponders. Three of four responder cata remained negative for FeLV 95 days after treatment was discontinued. Treatment of cats with lymphocytes without chemotherapy failed to influence the course of FeLV infection. These results suggest that combined treatment using IFNalpha and adoptive lymphocyte transfer served to reconstitute antiviral humoral immunity, counteract immunosuppression, and induce the reversal of retroviremia.

Previous experimental studies utilizing human recombinant interferon-alpha-2b (IFN alpha-2b) alone or with zidovudine (AZT) to treat established feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection resulted in a significant reduction in circulating virus throughout a 49-day treatment period. However, the anti-FeLV effect of IFN alpha was limited by the production of IFN alpha-neutralizing antibodies detected 7 weeks after the start of treatment. AZT without IFN alpha had no effect on circulating virus load. To examine the hypothesis that combination chemoimmunotherapy might induce the clearance of FeLV infection, persistently infected cats were infused with activated lymphocytes, IFN alpha, and AZT 12 weeks after infection with FeLV. Recipient cats received weekly infusions of 1.46 x 10(8) lymphocytes activated in vitro with lectin/IL-2 comprised of 98% T cells and an even distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes. FeLV infection was cleared in 4 of 9 cats receiving combined therapy after four adoptive cell transfers. These cats remained negative for circulating virus during a 63-day treatment period (17 adoptive cell transfers) despite the production of anti-IFN alpha-neutralizing antibodies. Sequential development of virus-neutralizing and virus envelope antibody titers were detected in those cats which cleared retroviremia, an antiviral response that was absent in untreated control animals or nonresponders. Three of four responder cats remained negative for FeLV 95 days after treatment was discontinued. Treatment of cats with lymphocytes without chemotherapy failed to influence the course of FeLV infection. These results suggest that combined treatment using IFN alpha and adoptive lymphocyte transfer served to reconstitute antiviral humoral immunity, counteract immunosuppression, and induce the reversal of retroviremia.

The protective immunity induced by 3 experimental FeLV vaccines were evaluated: Prototype inactivated FeLV vaccine developed from a molecularly cloned FeLV isolate (FeLV-FAIDS-61E-A); a mixture of immunodominant synthetic peptides corresponding to regions of the FeLV-Gardner-Arnstein-B (FeLV-GA-B) envelope proteins; and an adjuvant-disrupted but non-activated virus prepared from a non-cloned FeLV field isolate comprised of subgroup A and B viruses (FeLV-05821-AB). Included as controls were parallel groups of cats inoculated with adjuvants alone or with an established commercial FeLV vaccine. After each inoculation and after virulent virus challenge exposure, sera from all cats were assayed for ELISA-reactive antibody against purified FeLV, FeLV neutralizing (VN) antibody, and FeLV antigenemia/viremia--viral p27 antigen in serum and within circulating leukocytes. Immunity was challenged by oral/nasal exposure of vaccinated and control cats with FeLV-FAIDS-61E-A or FeLV-05821-AB, an infective, noncloned, tissue-origin, FeLV field isolate containing subgroup-A and -B viruses. Vaccine-induced immunity was assessed by comparing the postchallenge-exposure incidence of persistent viremia and the pre- and postchallenge exposure titers of VN and ELISA antibody in cats of the control and vaccine groups. The percentage of cats, that resisted development of persistent viremia after FeLV challenge exposure and the preventable fraction (PF) for the vaccine groups (which adjusts for the severity of the challenge and the degree of innate resistance in the controls) were as follows: adjuvant controls, 26%; FeLV-FAIDS-61E-A inactivated virus vaccine, 95% (PF = 93.2%); FeLV-GA-B peptide vaccine, 5% (-28.4%); FeLV-05821-AB noninactivated vaccine, 67% (55.4%); and commercial FeLV vaccine, 35% (12.2%). The prechallenge exposure mean VN antibody titer for each group was: less than 1:8 in the adjuvant controls; 1:43 in the FeLV-FAIDS-61E-A-vaccinated cats; less than 1:8 in the peptide-vaccinated cats; 1:38 in the noninactivated virus-vaccinated cats group; and 1:12 in the cats vaccinated with the commercial vaccine. Thus, induction of VN antibody in the vaccinated cats, although modest, appeared to be correlated with induction of protective immunity as defined by resistance to FeLV challenge exposure. Results of these studies indicate that inoculation of cats with an experimental inactivated virus vaccine prepared from a molecularly cloned FeLV isolate was most effective in stimulating protective immunity against heterologous and homologous FeLV challenge exposure.

Zidovudine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine; AZT) inhibited replication of an immunodeficiency-inducing strain of feline leukemia virus (FeLV-FAIDS) in vitro at concentrations of 0.5-0.005 micrograms/ml. A 25-30% additional antiviral effect was achieved in vitro when AZT was combined with human recombinant alpha interferon 2a (IFN alpha). Oral administration of AZT (20 mg/kg three times daily) to cats resulted in plasma concentrations of 3 micrograms/ml at 2 h post-administration with a T1/2 of approximately 1.60 h. Administration of AZT alone or in combination with IFN alpha or interleukin-2 (IL-2) throughout a 6-week treatment period enabled cats to resist challenge with FeLV-FAIDS. In contrast, those cats treated with IFN alpha or IL-2 alone became persistently antigenemic (core protein p27) in parallel with placebo-treated controls. Antigenemia remained undetectable in AZT-treated cats throughout an 80-day period post-inoculation (38 days after treatment was withdrawn). However, latent FeLV-FAIDS in bone marrow was detectable by in vitro culture of progenitor cells in the presence of hydrocortisone. Serial analysis of circulating p27 antigen, neutralizing antibody, and quantification of latent, reactivatable virus indicated that those animals receiving AZT in combination with IFN alpha were most able to resist FeLV-FAIDS challenge. This work provides additional evidence that early presymptomatic treatment employing combination chemoimmunotherapy can be effective in medical intervention of retroviral infection.