Human lymphotropic retroviruses associated with mycosis fungoides: evidence that human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) as well as HTLV-I may play a role in the disease.
The human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is causally associated with adult T-cell leukemia, but its role in mycosis fungoides (MF) has remained enigmatic. The virus is suspect because a small percentage of patients with MF have antibodies to it, the cells of others harbor deleted HTLV-I proviral sequences, and particles resembling HTLV-I emerge in cultured blood lymphocytes obtained from most patients. An alternative possibility is that disparate lymphotropic retroviruses may infect or affect a population of epidermotropic lymphocytes, leading to the same outcome, ie, MF. In studies designed to identify the particles detected in lymphocyte cultures of nine patients with a diagnosis of skin involvement characteristic of MF, this concept has gained support. While the cells of four patients provided evidence of HTLV-I infection, molecular hybridization with HTLV-II-specific pol probes showed HTLV-II in the cells of another patient. The 103-bp fragment amplified by the HTLV-II-specific probe was sequenced and proved to have greater than 90% homology with the same fragment amplified from cells known to be infected with HTLV-II. A role for HTLV-II in MF has not been suggested heretofore. Therefore, HTLV-I, HTLV-II, and their incomplete forms may be found in cells of MF patients, suggesting new theories regarding the pathogenesis of this disease.
Zucker-Franklin
D
D
Department of Medicine, New York University Medical Center, New York 10016.
Hooper
W C
WC
Evatt
B L
BL
D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000382:microbiology*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D004279:DNA, Viral