Antibody, immune complexes, and complement activity fluctuations in kittens with experimentally induced feline infectious peritonitis

Humoral changes were studied in 6 specific-pathogen-free kittens during experimental infection with feline infectious peritonitis virus. Although the incubation period and the duration of the disease differed widely, a similar pattern of rectal temperatures, serum complement values, circulating immune complexes, and antibody titers was found for all kittens during the last 15 to 20 days of life. Antibody formation started 8 to 13 days before death and was accompanied by the appearance of circulating immune complexes with subsequent increased concentrations of complement followed by complement depletion. The data are discussed as evidence for an immune complex pathogenesis of feline infectious peritonitis.