Amplification of HTLV-1-related sequences among patients with neurological disorders in highly endemic Nagasaki: lack of evidence for association of HTLV-1 with multiple sclerosis.
We studied DNA sequences homologous to HTLV-1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 30 patients with neurological disorders in Kyushu, where HTLV-1 is highly endemic. The regions of HTLV-1 amplified by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) included U3, U5, gag, pol, env and pX. Our system specifically detected HTLV-1 sequences only from HTLV-1-positive cells and was sufficiently sensitive to detect one proviral copy per 10(3) PBMC. All PCR-positive cases were seropositive, including 4 cases of tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) (4/4), and one case each of myasthenia gravis (1/7) and multiple sclerosis (1/8). The PCR-positive rate of patients, excluding 4 TSP/HAM cases, was 8% (2/26), which is similar to the seroprevalence of the adult population in the area. The data suggest that multiple sclerosis is not associated with prototype HTLV-1.
Nakayama
D
D
Department of Bacteriology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine.
Katamine
S
S
Kanazawa
H
H
Shibuya
N
N
Kawase
K
K
Moriuchi
R
R
Miyamoto
T
T
Hino
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015490:HTLV-I Infections; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies