Therapeutic effects of recombinant feline interferon-omega on feline leukaema virus (FeLV)-infected and FeLV/feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-coinfected symptomatic cats.

摘要

The clinical efficacy of a recombinant feline interferon, rFeIFN-omega, was evaluated for the treatment of cats presented with clinical signs associated with feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) infection and FeLV/feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) coinfection in the field. In this multicentric, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 81 cats meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly placed into two groups and treated subcutaneously with rFeIFN-omega (1 million MU/kg per day) or placebo once daily for 5 consecutive days in three series (day 0, 14, 60). The cats were monitored for up to one year for clinical signs and mortality. During the initial four month period, interferon (IFN-)-treated cats (n=39) had significantly reduced clinical scores compared with the placebo (n=42), with all cats having received concomitant supportive therapies. Compared with the control, The IFN-treated group showed significantly lower rates of mortality: 39% - 59% (1.7-fold higher risk of death for controls) at the 9-month time point. The IFN treatment was associated with minor but consistent improvement in abnormal haematologic parameters (red blood cell count, packed cell volume, and white blood cell count), apparently underlying the positive effects of IFN on clinical parameters. These data demonstrate that rFeIFN-omega initially has statistically significant therapeutic effects on clinical signs and later on survival of cats with clinical signs associated with FeLV infection and FeLV/FIV coinfection..