We see the acronym in headlines almost every day: HIV. But quick: what does it stand for?
While it might take a moment, you’ll probably be able to come up with the answer: “human immunodeficiency virus,” the virus that causes AIDS in humans.

The letters FIV, however, may prove a little more puzzling.

They refer to the “feline immunodeficiency virus,” which attacks the immune system of cats. But while FIV may not be a household term, an increased understanding of the animal virus may help unlock the secrets of its human counterpart.

That’s the hope of Dr. Dorothee Bienzle, Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. “Animals also have immunodeficiency viruses,” explains Dr. Bienzle, “and many of them make good models for the immunodeficiency virus in people. The cat virus is particularly useful.”

One of the things that makes FIV interesting is that cats infected with the virus can live unaffected for as long as ten years without treatment. In humans, the immunodeficiency virus often takes its devastating toll much sooner. “If we can understand why cats don’t have the same disease mechanism as people I think we can have an impact on the human field.” Dr. Bienzle is focusing on the role of two kinds of white blood cells in the course of FIV infection: dendritic cells, the particular white blood cells involved in initiating an immune response; and macrophages, cells that feed on pathogens and cellular debris.