UC Davis Study Finds Viruses May Hide and Persist in Immune Cells. esearchers at the University of California, Davis, have uncovered new details about how a once-deadly coronavirus disease in cats spreads through the immune system. The findings may help scientists better understand long COVID and other long-lasting inflammatory illnesses in people.
The disease, feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, is caused by a form of feline coronavirus that changes inside some cats. If left untreated, it is almost always fatal. While FIP only affects cats, it shares many features with serious coronavirus-related conditions in humans, including severe inflammation that can damage multiple organs, as well as symptoms that can persist or return.
A broader attack on the immune system
For years, the prevailing belief was that the virus behind FIP infected just one type of immune cell.
“What we found is that it actually infects a much broader range of immune cells, including those that are critical for fighting infection,” said lead author Amir Kol, associate professor with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
The study was published in the journal Veterinary Microbiology.