Conference misery::feline_v1

246.0. "Hope for cats with FeLV" by RAVEN1::HEFFELFINGER (Tracey Heffelfinger) Thu May 08 1986 00:04

       The following was found in the "Cat-ching up" column of the April
    1986 column of Cat Fancy.  I found this while gathering up my flea
    collar/flea fighting articles which I will summarize/post REAL SOON
    NOW.
    
    Reprinted without permission.
    
    Continuing the Fight against FeLV
    	
    	Despite the introduction of the FeLV vaccine, feline leukemia
    continues to be the leading killer of cats.  The vaccine is not
    effective once a cat has the disease, so scientists continue to look
    for treatments.
    
    	Wayne Tompkins,PhD., and Mary Tompkins, PhD., of the University
    of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, are working to stimulate the cat's
    immune system by increasing its ability to produce the disease-fighting
    substance interferon.
    
    	FeLV destroys the cat's disease-fighting ability, leaving it
    open to other deadly infections.  Interferon seems to increase the
    cat's ability to fight disease.  When given oral interferon producing
    substance in tests, the cats' bodies produced large quantities of
    interferon.
    
    	The Tompkinses' early tests were promising.  While the cats
    did not revert to a negative, or cured, status, they are living
    longer.  (The treatment is not yet available to the public.)  Further
    tests will determine if interferon is toxic to cats.
    
    	In the course of their work, the Tompkinses have learned a great
    deal about cats' blood chemistry that will be useful in future work
    on diseases.
    
    	In monitoring the immune system response to FeLV, they also
    found a cell in the cat's spleen that appears to be selective for
    killing FeLV in infected cells.  Though feline leukemia shuts down
    the cat's immune system as the disease progresses, the newly discovered
    cell can be stimulated to a high level of activity by treatments
    that enhance immunity.  The researchers hope that interferon is
    one of the substances that will stimulate the cell.
    
    	"We need to learn more about the characteristics of this cell--
    what it recognizes on the tumor cell surface and how to make it
    more effective against leukemia.  We want to monitor the numbers
    of this cell and distribution on normal cats, cats that are immune
    to feline leukemia virus and cats with disease," Wayne Tompkins
    said.
    
    	The scientists are producing a substance that can be used to
    map the cell's distribution in the body.  Once they have identified
    it, they can examine its distribution in leukemic cats and what
    role it plays in suppressing the immune system.  If they can learn
    why the cats' immune system is suppressed by disease, they can work
    on methods to overcome the problem.
    
    	Their work is being funded by the Morris Animal Foundation.