title: Human T-cell leukemia virus type I isolates from Gabon and Ghana: comparative analysis of proviral genomes.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Pathology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukasawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsujimoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ivanoff
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Frost
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delaporte
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mingle
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Grant
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes