Antibody to feline oncornavirus‐associated cell membrane antigen in neonatal cats

Abstract

Abstract Antibodies to a feline oncornavirus‐associated cell membrane antigen have been found in newborn kittens whose mothers had previously nursed litters of kittens injected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). These antibodies, which were apparently obtained passively from the mother, seem to protect the kittens from the development of progressive tumors following the injection of various amounts of feline sarcoma virus (FSV). That these mothers were apparently able to passively transmit immunity suggests that they became infected with FeLV in a horizontal manner while nursing previous litters and resisted the development of progressive tumors, but mounted an immune response which resulted in the production of humoral antibody. It also suggests that some degree of cross‐protection exists in vivo between the feline leukemia and sarcoma viruses used in this study.