Identification and genotyping of feline infectious peritonitis-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms in the feline interferon-γ gene

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an immune-mediated, highly lethal disease caused by feline coronavirus (FCoV) infection. Currently, no protective vaccine or effective treatment for the disease is available. Studies have found that some cats survive the challenge of virulent FCoV isolates. Since cellular immunity is thought to be critical in preventing FIP and because diseased cats often show a significant decrease in interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production, we investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the feline IFN-γ gene (fIFNG) are associated with the outcome of infection. A total of 82 asymptomatic and 63 FIP cats were analyzed, and 16 SNP were identified in intron 1 of fIFNG. Among these SNP, the fFING + 428 T allele was shown to be a FIP-resistant allele (p = 0.03), and the heterozygous genotypes 01C/T and +408C/T were found to be FIP-susceptible factors (p = 0.004). Furthermore, an fIFNG + 428 resistant allele also showed a clear correlation with the plasma level of IFN-γ in FIP cats. For the identification of these three FIP-related SNP, genotyping methods were established using amplification refractory mutation system PCR (ARMS-PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), and the different genotypes could easily be identified without sequencing. The identification of additional FIP-related SNP will allow the selection of resistant cats and decrease the morbidity of the cat population to FIP.