title: Characterization of a variant of human T-lymphotropic virus type I isolated from a healthy member of a remote, recently contacted group in Papua New Guinea.
abstract: We report the characterization of a variant of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) isolated from an interleukin 2-dependent, CD8+ T-cell line derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of a healthy member of a remote, recently contacted hunter-horticulturalist group (Hagahai) in Madang province of Papua New Guinea. Antigenic characterization of this variant, designated PNG-1, by immunofluorescence, indicated no expression of gag-encoded proteins p19 and p24 (even after incubation with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine), using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against HTLV-I gag gene products. Virus-specific proteins of 15, 19, 46, 53, and 61/68 kDa were demonstrated by Western blot analysis, using sera from patients with serologically and/or virologically confirmed HTLV-I myeloneuropathy, sera from HTLV-I-infected rabbits, and antibodies prepared against the C terminus of the major envelope glycoprotein gp46. Restriction endonuclease maps of PNG-1 proviral DNA differed from that of a prototype strain of HTLV-I (MT-2), but, as verified by polymerase chain reaction, PNG-1 was definitely HTLV-I, not HTLV-II. Nucleotide sequencing and further molecular genetic studies of this variant may provide insights into the origin and evolution of HTLV-I.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yanagihara
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Nerurkar
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Garruto
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Leon-Monzon
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Liberski
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Alpers
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gajdusek
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005006:Ethnicity; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D010219:Papua New Guinea; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins