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.
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.
Yoshida
T
T
First Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Japan.
Kikuchi
M
M
Ooshima
K
K
Takeshita
M
M
Kimura
N
N
Kozuru
M
M
Satoh
H
H
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*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies