Serologic discrimination of human T cell lymphotropic virus infection by using a synthetic peptide-based enzyme immunoassay.
Synthetic peptides corresponding with unique regions of the envelope glycoproteins (gp46) of human T cell lymphotropic viruses (HTLVs) were used in an enzyme immunoassay to determine if HTLV-I and -II infections could be discriminated. Two synthetic HTLV-I sequence-derived peptides, Env-1 (amino acids 191-215) and Env-5 (amino acids 242-257), reacted with 92% and 100% of the serum specimens (n = 52) from HTLV-I-infected persons, respectively. Although a small percentage (8.6%) of serum specimens from persons infected with HTLV-II cross-reacted with Env-1, none of these specimens reacted with Env-5. Peptide Env-2 encoded by the envelope region of HTLV-II (amino acids 187-210) reacted with serum specimens from both HTLV-I (94%)- and HTLV-II (74%)-infected patients, whereas Env-6, another HTLV-II peptide (amino acids 238-254), reacted with less than 6% of the specimens. Therefore, the Env-5 peptide with amino acid sequence SerProAsnValSerValProSerSerSerSerThrProLeuLeuTyr represents an immunodominant domain of HTLV-I that is recognized by serum antibodies from all HTLV-I-infected persons. Moreover, the Env-5-based ELISA allows a categorical distinction between the closely related HTLV-I and -II infections.
Lal
R B
RB
Retrovirus Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
Rudolph
D L
DL
Lairmore
M D
MD
Khabbaz
R F
RF
Garfield
M
M
Coligan
J E
JE
Folks
T M
TM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000276:immunology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies; D010455:Peptides