Oral infection of a common marmoset with human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I) by inoculating fresh human milk of HTLV-I carrier mothers.
To obtain definitive evidence that milk-borne infection plays a critical role in the endemy or mother-to-child transmission of human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I), we inoculated concentrated fresh human milk cells obtained from HTLV-I carrier mothers into the oral cavity of a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Twenty-eight milk samples were collected (5-10 ml each) from 17 carrier mothers in the first week after delivery. Cells in the milk were centrifuged down and resuspended in 1/10 vol of the milk fluid. The concentrated cell suspensions were successively inoculated into the oral cavity of a common marmoset. The marmoset was found to be seroconverted by indirect immunofluorescence assay at 2.5 months after the first inoculation of the milk (3.5 X 10(8) cells in total), and was later confirmed to be infected with HTLV-I by the detection of viral antigen expression in short-term cultures of its peripheral blood T-lymphocytes. The results strongly support the working hypothesis that milk-borne infection plays a significant role in the mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-I.
D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D002144:Callithrix / Q000382:microbiology*; D002143:Callitrichinae / Q000382:microbiology*; D002353:Carrier State; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000382:microbiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D000956:Antigens, Viral