Research overview: macrophage tropism in FIP pathogenesis

A defining feature of the FIP biotype of feline coronavirus is its ability to efficiently infect and replicate within monocytes and macrophages, enabling systemic dissemination and the characteristic immune-mediated vasculitis of the disease. This macrophage tropism distinguishes virulent FIPV from the enteric form, which remains largely confined to the gut. Infected macrophages carry virus throughout the body and drive the inflammatory lesions, pyogranulomas, and effusions seen clinically. This overview compiles pathogenesis studies rather than one source, describing how the shift to macrophage replication underlies disease, why the host immune response paradoxically worsens injury, and how this understanding informs both diagnosis and the rationale for antiviral therapy that halts viral replication in these key target cells.