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.
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.
Yanagihara
R
R
Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Nerurkar
V R
VR
Garruto
R M
RM
Miller
M A
MA
Leon-Monzon
M E
ME
Jenkins
C L
CL
Sanders
R C
RC
Liberski
P P
PP
Alpers
M P
MP
Gajdusek
D C
DC
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
D004279:DNA, Viral; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins