title: Anti-human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type I antibody-positive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma with no monoclonal proviral DNA. A clinicopathologic and immunologic study.
abstract: Proviral DNA of adult T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I) was examined by the standard Southern blotting method in lymph nodes of 45 patients with anti-HTLV-I antibody (ATLA)-positive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Six of these patients revealed no monoclonal proviral HTLV-I DNA in tumor cells. These six patients showed typical flower cells in peripheral blood; they comprised five cases of the smoldering type and one of lymphoma type. They showed a longer clinical course than ATLL patients with integrated proviral HTLV-I DNA. Five of the six patients were alive from 8 to 36 months after onset; the other patient died 9 months after onset. Histologically, they exhibited features of T-cell malignancy but with absence of the typical cerebriform giant cells that are usually present in ATLL. The tumor cells represented T-cell markers, usually CD4, but CD25 was negative. Rearrangement of the T-cell receptor gene C beta was found in four of the six cases. On the basis of these results, cases of ATLL with no monoclonal proviral HTLV-I DNA should be clinicopathologically differentiated from those with integrated proviral DNA.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ooshima
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeshita
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kozuru
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Satoh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies