Fig 7. Naïve cat saliva inhibits FIV replication.

FIV_C36 was incubated with 1:50 or 1:100 dilutions of naïve cat saliva in duplicate and inoculated onto CRFK cultures as described in the text. A ‘No Saliva’ virus-only positive control represented 100% FIV growth as measured by ELISA absorbance. (A) Mean ELISA absorbance values increased for all treatments except for virus-negative control (blue-checkered bars). Absorbance values for FIV pre-incubated with saliva at both 1:100 and 1:50 dilutions were significantly lower (p<0.001; RM-ANOVA) than the no saliva control (gray-striped bars), indicating a lower FIV replication rate in the presence of saliva. (B) Analysis of percent inhibition over time revealed a significant inhibitory effect with saliva treatments differing over time (p<0.05; RM-ANOVA) and at individual time points (days 4 and 8 post-inoculation) relative to the ‘No Saliva’ virus-only positive controls.