title: Monoclonal integration of HTLV-I proviral DNA in patients with strongyloidiasis.
abstract: The relationship between strongyloidiasis and HTLV-I was investigated in Okinawa, an area where both conditions are endemic. Thirty-six patients with strongyloidiasis were seropositive for HTLV-I and suffered from several related clinical complications. Fourteen of these patients (39%) were shown to have monoclonal integration of HTLV-I proviral DNA in their blood lymphocytes, a condition designated as "smouldering" adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL). Monoclonal integration of proviral DNA correlated with an increased CD4/CD8 ratio and the presence of abnormal lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, and with a trend for greater severity of the parasitic infection. Although the immunodeficiency caused by HTLV-I could predispose to hyperinfestation by Strongyloides, it is also possible that both the parasitic and the retroviral infestations are important co-factors leading to the development of ATL.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies; D006800:Deltaretrovirus Infections / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013322:Strongyloidiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies