Feline Leukemia Virus p27 Antigen Concentration and Proviral DNA Load Are Associated with Survival in Naturally Infected Cats

Abstract

Longitudinal studies of cats naturally infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are important for understanding disease outcomes. Levels of p27 antigen and copy numbers of proviral DNA have been associated with FeLV-infection courses. The purpose of this prospective study was to establish cutoff values for p27 antigen concentration and proviral DNA load that distinguished high positive from low positive groups of cats and to evaluate an association with survival. At enrollment, 254 cats were tested by point-of-care and microtiter plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for p27 antigen and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for proviral DNA. The 127 positive cats were retested monthly for six months and monitored for survival over the four-year study. A receiver operating characteristic-based analysis of samples with concordant or discordant qualitative results for p27 antigen and proviral DNA was used to establish cutoff values, and when applied to test results at enrollment for classifying cats as high positive or low positive, a significant difference in survival was observed. High positive cats had a median survival of 1.37 years (95% CI 0.83–2.02) from time of enrollment, while most low positive cats were still alive (93.1% survival). Quantitative results for p27 antigen concentration and proviral DNA load were highly correlated with survival times in FeLV-infected cats.