title: Verification of HTLV-I infection in the Solomon Islands by virus isolation and gene amplification.
abstract: We report the detection of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) genomic sequences by polymerase chain reaction in lymphocyte cultures of three unrelated native Solomon Islanders, including a patient with HTLV-I myeloneuropathy, residing in widely separated regions. In addition, we have isolated HTLV-I from T-cell lines derived from two of these individuals. Virus-specific proteins of 15, 19, 24, 46 and 53 kilodaltons were detected by immunofluorescence and Western immunoblot, using serum from a Colombian patient with HTLV-I myeloneuropathy, sera from HTLV-I-infected rabbits, and monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against HTLV-I gag and env gene products. Amplification of HTLV-I gag, pol and env sequences by polymerase chain reaction confirmed that the viral isolates were HTLV-I, not HTLV-II. Our data clearly demonstrate that HTLV-I does exist in Melanesia. Although the Solomon Islands viral isolates resemble prototype strains of HTLV-I, we believe they represent variants of HTLV-I, particularly in the light of our recent isolation of an HTLV-I variant from Papua New Guinea. Nucleotide sequence analysis of these viral strains, now in progress, should clarify the molecular epidemiology and phylogeny of HTLV-I.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yanagihara
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ajdukiewicz
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Nerurkar
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Garruto
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gajdusek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015686:Gene Products, env; D005814:Genes, Viral; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010139:Pacific Islands; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D015686:Gene Products, env; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C055266:gp46 protein, Human T-cell leukemia virus type I