OBJECTIVE To evaluate the ability of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to inhibit in vitro viral replication and gene expression of feline coronavirus (FCoV). SAMPLE Cell cultures of Crandell-Rees feline kidney cells. PROCEDURES 5 synthetic siRNAs that each targeted a different region of the FCoV genome were tested individually and in various combinations for their antiviral effects against 2...

Dr. Niels C. Pedersen is Director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory and Director of the Center for Companion Animal Health at the University of California at Davis. Dr. Pedersen is an international authority on infectious diseases and immunological disorders in small animals and in comparative genetics. His current areas of research focus on infectious diseases of cats and dogs in shelter a...

The article discusses feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), an important disease frequently seen in veterinary practice. FIP causes many problems to the veterinarian as it can be difficult to definitively diagnose the disease, as there is no effective treatment, and as prophylactic interventions are not very successful. Although intense research has created a lot of new knowledge about this dise...

Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) is characterized by the destruction of erythrocytes or sometimes bone marrow erythroid precursors mediated by immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM), with or without complement (C 3). The main objectives of this study were to assess the laboratory test results of IMHA and to investigate its possible underlying causes in cats referring to the Veterinary Teaching Hosp...

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) frequently results in death in cats. It is caused by a mutated, highly contagious coronavirus, and it is more common in indoor cats in multicat households. A complex interaction between the coronavirus and the feline immune system causes disseminated vasculitis, which is the hallmark of FIP. New tests are being developed, but the antemortem diagnosis of FIP c...

Coronaviruses are well known for their potential to change their host or tissue tropism, resulting in unpredictable new diseases and changes in pathogenicity; severe acute respiratory syndrome and feline coronaviruses, respectively, are the most recognized examples. Feline coronaviruses occur as 2 pathotypes: nonvirulent feline enteric coronaviruses (FECVs), which replicate in intestinal epithe...

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an invariably fatal disease of cats caused by systemic infection with a feline coronavirus (FCoV) termed feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). The lethal pathology associated with FIP (granulomatous inflammation and T-cell lymphopenia) is thought to be mediated by aberrant modulation of the immune system due to infection of cells such as monocytes an...