Human T-cell leukemia virus type I isolates from Gabon and Ghana: comparative analysis of proviral genomes.
Two isolates of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) were obtained from lymphocyte cultures of a healthy carrier in Gabon and another in Ghana. Their proviruses were analyzed by Southern blot hybridization and compared with prototypical HTLV-I isolated in Japan and the United States. The provirus genomes of both strains were highly homologous to the prototype HTLV-I along the whole viral genome. The restriction endonuclease sites of the Ghanian isolate were almost identical with those of the prototype HTLV-I, but 10 of 26 sites of the Gabonese isolate were different from those of the prototype. Furthermore, the restriction map of the Gabonese isolate resembled those of a simian T-cell leukemia virus (STLV-I) isolated from a chimpanzee from Sierra Leone and a variant of HTLV-I from Zaire (HTLV-Ib) more closely than those of any other known HTLV-I. These results indicated the existence of some unique strains of HTLV-I transmitted among African people, and the importance of clarifying the origin and transmission of HTLV group viruses.
Fukasawa
M
M
Department of Animal Pathology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo.
Tsujimoto
H
H
Ishikawa
K
K
Miura
T
T
Ivanoff
B
B
Cooper
R W
RW
Frost
E
E
Delaporte
E
E
Mingle
J A
JA
Grant
F C
FC
D005075:Biological Evolution; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005681:Gabon; D005869:Ghana; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization
D004279:DNA, Viral; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes