title: Human spumavirus antibodies in sera from African patients.
abstract: Serum samples collected from patients with a wide variety of diseases from African and other countries were tested for antibodies to the human spumaretrovirus (HSRV). A spumaviral env-specific ELISA was employed as screening test. Out of 3020 human sera screened, 106 were found to be positive (3.2%). While the majority of patients' sera from Europe (1581) were negative, 26 were positive (1.6%). Sera from healthy adult blood donors (609), from patients with multiple sclerosis (48), Graves' disease (45), and chronic fatigue syndrome (41) were negative or showed a very low prevalence for spumaviral env antibodies. A higher percentage of seropositives (6.3%) were found among 1338 African patients from Tanzania, Kenya, and Gabon. Out of 1180 patients from Tanzania, 708 suffered from tumors, 75 from AIDS, and 128 had gynecological problems; 51 of the Tanzanian patients were HSRV seropositive (4.3%). A particularly high percentage of 16.6% seropositives were identified among nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients (NPC) from Kenya and Tanzania consistent with results reported 10 years ago. However, 20 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from Malaysia were HSRV-seronegative. In selected cases, sera from seropositive individuals were reacted with proteins from HSRV-infected cells in vitro. HSRV env- and gag-specific antibodies were specifically detected by these sera in Western blots. The results indicate spumavirus infections in human patients with various diseases at a relatively low prevalence worldwide; in African patients, however, the prevalence of spumavirus infections is markedly higher.
authors.affiliation: Projektgruppe Humane Retroviren, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mahnke
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kashaiya
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rössler
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bannert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Blattner
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luande
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Löchelt
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Friedman-Kien
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000276:immunology; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D016092:Spumavirus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D015686:Gene Products, env; D015683:Gene Products, gag