Inhibitory effect of stromal cell derived factor-1 on the replication of divergent strains of feline immunodeficiency virus in a feline T-lymphoid cell line.

The effect of a CXC-chemokine, stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1), on the replication of divergent strains of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) was examined in order to identify the mechanism of cell entry of FIV. A chemotaxis assay, using a modified Boyden chamber method, confirmed the biological activity of recombinant human (rh) SDF-1 for a feline T-lymphoid cell line (Kumi-1). The viral replication of FIV, as measured by the reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in the culture supernatant, was significantly suppressed by addition of rhSDF-1 in a dose-dependent manner in Kumi-1 cells. Furthermore, PCR analysis of the FIV proviral genome indicated that the inhibitory effect of rhSDF-1 on the replication of FIV in Kumi-1 cells was due to the inhibitory effect in the early event of replication. The inhibitory effect on viral replication by exogenous rhSDF-1 was shown for four divergent FIV isolates of subtypes A, B, and D in Kumi-1 cells.