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. 2025 Jul 16;12(7):668.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci12070668.

Genetic and Biological Properties of an Epidemic Feline Panleukopenia Virus Strain (Ala91Ser) in China

Erkai Feng  1 , Zihan Ye  1 , Manping Yan  1 , Yaxi Zhou  1 , Danni Wu  1 , Shipeng Cheng  1 , Yuening Cheng  1
Affiliations

Genetic and Biological Properties of an Epidemic Feline Panleukopenia Virus Strain (Ala91Ser) in China

Erkai Feng et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

To genetically characterise an epidemic isolate of feline panleukopenia virus (FPLV) harbouring the Ala91Ser mutation in China, a clinical strain (accession number: OR921195.1), named FPLV-CC19-02, was isolated from a PCR-positive faecal swab sample. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that it is far removed from all current commercial vaccine strains and differs from the FPLV prototype strain Cu-4 (M38246.1), specifically the vaccine strain of Fel-O-Vax® PCT, at positions 91 (Ala91Ser) and 101 (Ile101Thr) within the VP2 protein. This virus can induce the typical cytopathic effect seen in parvovirus infection in feline kidney cells, resulting in severe clinical symptoms in cats, including haematochezia and hyperthermia. Furthermore, infected cats died of virus infection within 5-10 days post-infection (dpi) (100% morbidity and 83% mortality), indicating that FPLV-CC19-02 is a strain with increased virulence. Additionally, it demonstrated good immunogenicity in cats. Overall, these findings may help us to better understand the molecular prevalence of feline panleukopenia virus in cats and provide valuable basic data for the development of effective, locally adapted feline panleukopenia virus vaccines in China.

Keywords: Ala91Ser; epidemic; feline panleukopenia virus; immunogenicity; pathogenicity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Isolation and identification of the FPLV epidemic strain (FPLV-CC19-02) in China. (A,D): an F81 cell; (B,E): an F81 cell infected with FPLV-CC19-02; (C): amplification of the full-length VP2 gene of FPLV-CC19-02. DNA 5000 ladder; lane 1: FPLV-CC19-02; lane 2: Fel-O-Vax® PCT; lane 3: nuclease-free water; (F): morphology of FPLV-CC19-02 under electron microscopy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic analysis of FPLV-CC19-02.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Epidemiology investigation of Ala91S FPLV variants around the world.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Typical symptoms of FPLV infection (diarrhoea, haematochezia, and intestinal bleeding): (A): diarrhoea; (B): haematochezia; (C): normal intestinal tract of cats; (D): intestinal bleeding in cats; (E): local anatomy of the bleeding intestinal tract.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The changing curve of body temperature in cats from the different groups. Note: The different lowercase letters indicate a significant difference at the 0.05 level.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The scoring of clinical symptoms of FPLV-CC19-02 infection. Note: The different lowercase letters indicate a significant difference at the 0.05 level.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The survival chart of cats in the experimental and control groups.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The relative transcript level of FPLV in different organs from cats in other groups. Notes: “ns” indicates no difference; “**” indicates significant difference at 0.01 level.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Results of the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titres of all cats after vaccination. Note: The different lowercase letters indicate a significant difference at the 0.05 level.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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