FTLV AS A SMALL LABORATORY MODEL OF HIV

THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGIES AND A KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT WILL ENHANCE THE UTILIZATION OF FELINE T-CELL LYMPHOTROPIC LENTIVIRUS (FTLV) AS A SMALL-LABORATORY ANIMAL MODEL OF HIV. IN PHASE I, A FTLV ANTIGEN TEST WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT WILL AUGMENT EXISTING ANTIBODY TESTS AND PROVIDE VETERINARIANS AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS WITH DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS TO MONITOR FTLV INFECTION. IT IS ALSO PLANNED TO BEGIN NUCLEIC ACID SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF FTLV TO OBTAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE GENOMIC ORGANIZATION OF THIS VIRUS AND TO COMPARE THESE RESULTS WITHTHE KNOWN SEQUENCE OF HIV AND OTHER LENTIVIRUSES. THE FTLV MODEL POSSESSES ADVANTAGES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRUGS TO BLOCK LENTIVIRUS REPLICATION AND TO EVALUATE A PARTICULAR APPROACH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LENTIVIRUS VACCINES.