title: Isolation of HTLV-transformed B-lymphocyte clone from a patient with HTLV-associated adult T-cell leukaemia.
abstract: The human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) is an exogenous retrovirus which has been associated with adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATL). This malignancy of T lymphocytes is endemic to southern Japan, the West Indies, and to a lesser extent, the Middle East, Central Africa and the southeastern United States. ATL cells from patients of diverse geographical origins have been found to be infected with HTLV-1 (ref.6). HTLV is normally tropic for mature T lymphocytes, especially those expressing the helper-inducer surface antigen phenotype (OKT4 or Leu-3-positive), and the neoplastic T cells infected with HTLV generally express receptors for T-cell growth factor (detected by reactivity with anti-Tac antibody). However, we report here the isolation of a HTLV-infected B-lymphocyte clone from the peripheral blood of a patient with ATL. This clone is cytogenetically normal and is not infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Co-culture of cells from this clone with cord blood lymphocytes resulted in transmission of HTLV and the immortalization of either T or B lymphocytes. These results suggest that HTLV may be associated with a broader range of host cells than previously recognized.
mesh_terms: D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology*; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface