FeLV-FAIDS-induced immunodeficiency syndrome in cats.

Findings are reviewed, relevant to elucidation of the pathogenic, genetic and biochemical properties of a single, genetically heterogeneous isolate of feline leukemia virus (FeLV-FAIDS) shown to induce fatal immunodeficiency disease in nearly 100% of inoculated cats. Hypotheses are suggested which pertain to the mechanism of T-cell killing by this virus, and which extrapolate findings in the FeLV-FAIDS animal model to AIDS induced in humans by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).