Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (CV 777) and feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) are antigenically related

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Abstract
Using gut sections from pigs infected with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (strain CV 777) and ascitic fluid from cats which had succumbed to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a weak cross reaction was found by immunofluorescence. Its specificity was confirmed when detergent-treated purified CV 777 showed a prominent reaction with FIPV antibodies in ELISA; no reaction was obtained with intact virions, which indicated common determinants on an internal component of the particle. Antigenic cross-reactions at the nucleocapsid level were found in Western blot ELISA performed both ways (CV 777/FIPV antibodies; FIPV/CV 777 antibodies). In immunoprecipitation using [35S]methionine labelled FIPV, anti-CV 777 sera recognized exclusively the nucleocapsid protein. The significance of these findings for the classification of coronaviruses is discussed.