title: Isolation of HTLV III/LAV from drug addicts in Palermo.
abstract: The new human retroviruses HTLV III/LAV, implicated as the causative agent of AIDS, have been isolated from peripheral blood lymphocytes of 5 of 13 drugs abusers with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related complex (ARC). In one patient the virus was also found in cell-free plasma. No HTLV III/LAV was detected in or isolated from 5 clinically healthy drug abusers. The lymphocytes were cultured with interleukin 2 and expressed either a transcriptase reverse activity or HTLV III/LAV antigens within 2-3 weeks of cultivation. The viruses were also transmitted into normal lymphocytes from cord blood of human newborns. At the present state of development, virological investigation, other than seroepidemiological survey, seems a suitable marker for human retroviruses tracing in epidemiological studies.
mesh_terms: D000386:AIDS-Related Complex / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D012802:Sicily; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications