Feline lymphoma, one of the most important malignant tumors in domestic cats, is also increasingly diagnosed in non-domestic felines, most notably, African lions (Panthera leo). The gold standard for the diagnosis of lymphoma is histopathological evaluation. As an additional tool, the PCR for antigen receptor gene rearrangement (PARR) has been established. To support the diagnosis on a molecular level, the PCR-based clonality assay is designed to distinguish between reactive and neoplastic lymphocyte populations. In general, PARR primers are used to target complete immunoglobulin heavy chain V-D-J (IGH-VDJ) and T-cell receptor gamma V-J (TRG-VJ) chain gene rearrangements. In this study, we validated the primer sets used in routine diagnostics of domestic cats for the application in non-domestic felines. Clonality testing was used in 41 non-domestic feline species and the results were interpreted in the light of their clinical history and their pathology. In total, clonality could be detected in 8 non-domestic felines (19.4%), including 3 lymphoma cases confirmed by histopathology. These results confirmed the successful application of domestic feline-specific PARR primers in non-domestic feline species. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the clonality assay were 100% and 88%, respectively. Finally, the overall diagnostic accuracy was 89%.

猫淋巴瘤是家猫中最重要的恶性肿瘤之一，在非家养猫科动物中也越来越多地被诊断出来，其中最著名的是非洲狮子（Panthera leo）。诊断淋巴瘤的金标准是组织病理学评估。作为一种额外的工具，已经建立了用于抗原受体基因重排（PARR）的PCR。为了在分子水平上支持诊断，基于PCR的克隆性分析旨在区分反应性和肿瘤性淋巴细胞群。通常，PARR引物用于靶向完整的免疫球蛋白重链VDJ（IGH-VDJ）和T细胞受体γVJ（TRG-VJ）链基因重排。在这项研究中，我们验证了用于家猫常规诊断的引物组在非家养猫科动物中的应用。对41种非家养猫科动物进行了克隆性测试，并根据其临床病史和病理对其结果进行了解释。总共，在8例非家猫中可检测到克隆性（19.4％），其中3例经组织病理学证实。这些结果证实了家猫特异的PARR引物在非家养猫科动物中的成功应用。克隆性测定的诊断敏感性和特异性分别为100％和88％。最终，整体诊断准确性为89％。