title: Serological and nucleic acid analyses for HIV and HTLV infection on archival human plasma samples from Zaire.
abstract: In order to better understand the genomic diversity and molecular phylogeny of the human retroviruses, the plasmas from 250 Zairean patients collected in 1969 were tested for antibodies to human T-cell lymphoma and human immunodeficiency viruses (HTLV or HIV) using ELISA and confirmatory Western blots and for viral nucleic acids by reverse transcriptase-directed PCR (RT-PCR). Interestingly, none of the patients was confirmed positive for HIV, even though this region is now endemic for HIV-1. However, 74 (30%) and 3 (1%) of the samples were positive for antibodies to HTLV-I and II, respectively. Forty-four of 74 (59%) Western blot-positive Zairean samples were RT-PCR positive for HTLV-I, while 1 of 3 (33%) of HTLV-II-seropositive samples was RT-PCR positive. On the contrary, none of the Western blot-negative or indeterminate samples were RT-PCR positive for either HTLV-I or HTLV-II. We have cloned and sequenced 140 bp of the pol gene flanked by SK110/SK111 from 8 HTLV-I- and 1 HTLV-II-positive archival samples from Zaire. The HTLV-I isolates from Zaire cluster together as a phylogenetic group, diverging from the prototype Japanese HTLV-I (ATK) by a range of 1.4 to 3.6%. Their close homology to some African STLV-I isolates suggests relatively recent interspecies transmission. The Zairean HTLV-II isolate is closely grouped with the HTLV-II substrain of isolates found in Paleo-Amerindians of the New World, making it unlikely that it represents an endemic African strain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse 13210.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Dube
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dube
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Erensoy
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bryz-Gornia
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spicer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Love
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saksena
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lechat
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Shrager
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001109:Archives; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006800:Deltaretrovirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015751:Genes, pol; D006678:HIV / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D001909:Leukemia Virus, Bovine / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral