title: Spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation in human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) and HTLV-II infection: T-cell subset responses and their relationships to the presence of provirus and viral antigen production.
abstract: Spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation (SLP) during in vitro culture of mononuclear cells (MCs) characterizes over half of asymptomatic individuals infected with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) or HTLV-II. Both CD4 and CD8 T-cell subsets within MC cultures are activated during SLP, as judged by high-density CD25 (CD25bright) expression; it is unclear, however, whether both cell subsets can directly undergo SLP. In the present investigation, the SLP capacities of purified CD8 and CD4 cells were examined in subjects infected with HTLV-I (n = 19) or HTLV-II (n = 54) in relation to the SLP status of MCs from each subject. No increase in SLP was observed for CD8 or CD4 cells from SLP-negative (SLP-) HTLV-infected subjects, whereas robust SLP characterized CD8 cells from all SLP-positive (SLP+) individuals, regardless of HTLV type. In contrast, SLP+ CD4 cells characterized only 23% (7 of 31) of HTLV-II+ SLP+ individuals, whereas SLP+ CD4 cells characterized 100% of HTLV-I+ SLP+ individuals. In cocultures of HTLV-II+ SLP+ CD8 cells and autologous SLP- CD4 cells, sizable proportions of both CD8 cells and CD4 cells coexpressed CD25bright, suggesting that SLP- CD4 cells were activated in the presence of SLP+ CD8 cells. PCR analysis for tax sequences detected provirus in most CD4- and CD8-cell preparations from HTLV-seropositive individuals, regardless of type and the SLP status of cell subsets. To determine whether SLP was associated with activation of viral genes, levels of HTLV-I and HTLV-II core antigen (Ag) in supernatants were measured. Viral Ag production and SLP responses were significantly correlated for both CD4 and CD8 cells in both HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections. However, inhibition of CD8- or CD4-cell SLP by cyclosporin A or anti-Tac (anti-CD25) did not reduce Ag production, indicating that Ag production is not coupled to SLP. These findings show that CD4 cells from SLP+ HTLV-I+ and SLP+ HTLV-II+ individuals differ in SLP capacity, that the absence of SLP does not indicate a lack of infection, and that production of viral Ag is associated with, but not dependent on, SLP.
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016679:Genome, Viral; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015487:HTLV-II Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology; D011533:Proviruses / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015486:HTLV-I Antigens; D015487:HTLV-II Antigens