Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is a newly recognized morbillivirus characterized by its ability to persist in the kidneys of domestic cats. In this study, we established a method that enables accurate measurement of viral replication and infection-induced neutralizing antibodies by using cells that stably express the feline viral receptor. Our results showed that cats infected with FeMV produce very strong virus-specific neutralizing antibodies; however, these antibodies do not act against other morbilliviruses. This finding indicates that FeMV possesses a uniquely distinct antigenic profile compared with other morbilliviruses. The outcomes of this study will contribute to the development of diagnostic methods and vaccines for FeMV, and provide important insights not only for veterinary medicine but also for deepening our understanding of measles virus, the morbillivirus that infects humans.

Tashiro K#, Konishi K#, Park ES, Hyodo A, Seki F, Kitai Y, Akahori Y, Ju M, Katoh H, Segawa T, Shirogane Y, Itou T, Furuya T, Morikawa S, Takeda M. Feline morbillivirus elicits robust neutralizing antibodies in domestic cats without cross-neutralizing activities against canonical morbilliviruses. J Gen Virol. Accepted. # Equal contribution.