Feline calicivirus and natural killer cells: A study of its relationship in chronic gingivostomatitis

Vet World Vol.16 August-2023 Article-18

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(8): 1708-1713

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.1708-1713

Ana C. Fontes¹, Maria C. Vieira¹, Marcela Oliveira^2,3, Lígia Lourenço¹, Carlos Viegas^1,4, Pedro Faísca^5,6, Fernanda Seixas^1,4, João F. Requicha^1,4, and Maria A. Pires^1,4

1. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
2. Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
3. ICVS/3B’s-PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
4. Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV) and AL4AnimalS, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
5. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Research Centre for Biosciences and Health Technologies, Lusófona University, Lisboa, Portugal.
6. DNAtech, Lisboa, Portugal.

Background and Aim: Feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) is a frequent chronic inflammatory condition in the oral cavity with an etiopathogenesis not completely identified. This study aimed to contribute to the knowledge of FCGS by identifying the presence of feline calicivirus (FCV) antigens and natural killer (NK) cells and comparing them.

Materials and Methods: Forty biopsies from the oral mucosa of cats diagnosed with chronic gingivostomatitis were subjected to immunohistochemical techniques to evaluate cells with FCV antigens and NK cells positive for CD56.

Results: NK cells were identified in all samples, with an average of 725.3 ± 409.1 cells. Regarding FCV, it was identified in 18 out of 30 samples (60%), with a different number of cells with virus in between the analyzed cases. In all cases, the number of cells infected with FCV was lower than the number of NK cells present in the same samples, but there was no statistical association between them.

Conclusion: This preliminary study shows that NK cells are present in gingivostomatitis lesions not exclusively caused by FCV-stimulus, as only 60% of all cases were positive for this virus, but other antigens should be considered in the etiology of FCGS. Keywords: feline calicivirus, feline chronic gingivostomatitis, immunohistochemistry, natural killer cells.

Keywords: feline calicivirus, feline chronic gingivostomatitis, immunohistochemistry, natural killer cells.

How to cite this article: Fontes AC, Vieira MC, Oliveira M, Lourenço L, Viegas C, Faísca P, Seixas F, Requicha JF, and Pires MA (2023) Feline calicivirus and natural killer cells: A study of its relationship in chronic gingivostomatitis, Veterinary World, 16(8): 1708-1713.

Received: 08-04-2023 Accepted: 04-08-2023 Published online: 24-08-2023

Corresponding author: João F. Requicha E-mail: jfrequicha@utad.pt

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1708-1713

Copyright: Fontes, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.