Effect of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Infection on Toxoplasma gondii‐specific Humoral and Cell‐mediated Immune Responses of Cats with Serologic Evidence of Toxoplasmosis

Abstract

Serum samples from 89 cats with serologic evidence of toxoplasmosis were identified by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detected Toxoplasma gondii-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) or T. gondii-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG). Concurrent feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection was detected in 36 cats using an ELISA for detection of FIV-specific IgG. The majority of the cats in both the FIV-seropositive and FIV-seronegative groups were male and >5 years of age. FIV-seropositive cats were more likely to have T. gondii IgM titers without IgG (P > 0.05) or any T. gondii IgM titer (P > 0.05) than were FIV-seronegative cats. FIV-seronegative cats (1328) had a higher T. gondii IgG geometric mean titer than did FIV-seropositive cats (724) and were more likely to have T. gondii IgG titers 1:2048 than were FIV-seropositive cats (P > 0.05). Cats with serologic evidence of both T. gondii and FIV infections had persistent T. gondii IgM titers for >12 weeks. Lymphoblast transformation in response to concanavalin A, T. gondii-specific intracellular antigens, and T. gondii-specific secretory antigens was compared in T. gondii seropositive and FIV-seronegative cats, cats with serologic evidence of T. gondii infection alone, and cats with serologic evidence of concurrent FIV and T. gondii infections. Lymphocytes from all but one cat in the FIV-seropositive group responded to concanavalin A. Whereas lymphocytes from FIV-seronegative cats with serologic evidence of toxoplasmosis responded to T. gondii-specific antigens, four of five of the FIV-seropositive cats with concurrent serologic evidence of toxoplasmosis did not.