Hi MaryChristine and Gloria, FIV is in fact a closer relative to HIV than is FeLV. The three belong to the same retrovirus family and subfamily, but FeLV belongs to the Gammaretrovirus group, whereas FIV and HIV belong to the Lentivirus group. The severe outcomes of the disease, however, make feline leukemia more analogous to AIDS in some aspects. The discovery of HIV as the causal agent of human immunodeficiency was due to the previous knowledge that FeLV (not FIV) virus causes a similar syndrome in cats. Moreover, FeLV is a model for the study of cancer. Indeed, most of the papers I have cited here about the use of Protein A came from the research group of the late Robert A. Good, a renamed immunologist and oncologist http://www.robertagoodarchives.com/biography.html Hebert
> From: twelvehousec...@gmail.com > Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:07:37 -0400 > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Subject: [Felvtalk] Research into FeLV: was Staph Protein A > > wow, hebert, thank you for these great posts! (and your english is better > than many who claim to be native speakers.) > > i have always been under the impression, tho, that FIV, not FeLV, was > considered by researchers to be more analogous to HIV/AIDS (an early > hypothesis which i believe has been adequately disproven), even tho it > appears to those of us who aren't scientists but have done the best reading > they can that FeLV is much closer in manner of transmission, manifestation, > and course. > > gary, have pedersen or levy done any work with this? they're the two folks, > off-hand, that i can think of who have consistently continued actually > researching FeLV--susan little, as well, seems to have been fairly on top of > what research is going on..... might they know about any researchers > currently working on this? > > i remember when i first got involved with FeLV, from living at a sanctuary, > and i was asking why no one was doing safe, minimally invasive research on > the three main populations of FeLVs in the countries, at that time Best > Friends, us, and Angel Wings (in terms of population size)--i was told then > that answering the questions that folks on this list and others were already > asking would probably require catching the interest of a drug company, as > private or academic researchers wouldn't likely have the funding..... (back > to my usual comment about how difficult it is to do research on a population > that is regularly treated by immediate euthanasia.) > > i'm not sure how many folks here really realize that a great deal of > research on genetic conditions in cats could not have come about without the > involvement--and fundraising--on the part of breeders, determined to > eradicate killers in their own breeds (HCM in maine coons and bengals > immediately comes to mind.) FeLV owners aren't as identifiable an entity as > cattery owners, and while their emotional investment is just as great, i'm > not sure how to mobilize "us" to perhaps do the same for this illness..... > > > -- > Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! > Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > > MaryChristine > Special-Needs Coordinator, Purebred Cat Breed Rescue (www.purebredcats.org) > Member, SCAT (Special-Cat Action Team) > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _________________________________________________________________ Deixe suas conversas mais divertidas. Baixe agora mesmo novos emoticons. É grátis! http://specials.br.msn.com/ilovemessenger/pacotes.aspx _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
