Simian T-cell leukemia virus type I infection in captive baboons.
Human T-cell leukemia virus type (HTLV-I) is a type C retrovirus that has been linked to both adult T-cell leukemia and neurological disorders in humans. Baboons and other Old World non-human primates harbor a related virus termed simian T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (STLV-I), which may also be associated with neoplastic disease. To explore the utility of the baboon as a model for HTLV-I infection and disease, 329 baboons from a colony of 3200 at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against STLV-I. An overall seroprevalence rate of > 40% was found, with higher rates in females versus males. Furthermore, seroprevalence rates increased dramatically with age, reaching greater than 80% in animals over the age of 16. Molecular and antigenic analysis of proviral DNA isolated from both tumor tissue and a cell line isolated from a baboon with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) indicates that STLV-I in this colony is closely related to HTLV-I. Furthermore, monoclonally integrated provirus isolated from lymphoma tissue was detected, strongly implicating STLV-I in the etiology of this malignancy. DNA primer pairs homologous to HTLV-I sequences amplified both HTLV-I and STLV-I, but not HTLV-II, providing further evidence for a close genetic relationship between baboon-derived STLV-I and HTLV-I. The detailed study of a large population of naturally infected baboons may therefore shed some light into the complex processes required for the induction of disease associated with HTLV-I infection in humans.
Moné
J
J
Department of Virology, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, TX 78228.
Whitehead
E
E
Leland
M
M
Hubbard
G
G
Allan
J S
JS
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern / Q000662:veterinary; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary; D002460:Cell Line; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010215:Papio / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D015303:Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded