Modified western blot with recombinant antigens for serological differentiation between HTLV-I and HTLV-II.
Some epidemiological and clinical features of HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections remain unclear due to the inability to confirm and distinguish between the two retroviruses. Since HTLV-I and HTLV-II have a high degree of genomic and aminoacid sequence homology, serologic crossreactions are frequent, making it difficult to establish an accurate serologic diagnosis. To confirm and differentiate HTLV-I/II infections, different serologic confirmatory assays were compared. Fourteen serum samples from 11 IVDU, a bisexual subject, a polytransfused and an ATL patient were examined. The sera repeatedly reactive by Elisa and indeterminate with a conventional Western Blot with viral lysate, were retested by new modified Western Blots containing recombinant antigens. All sera from IVDU but one were confirmed and typed as HTLV-II while serum from ATL was serologically typed as HTLV-I. Serum from the polytransfused patient was not confirmed while serum from the bisexual remained indeterminate. These findings suggest that recombinant antigens are useful for serological diagnosis of HTLV-I/II infections.
Institute of Hygiene-University of Bari, Policlinico, Italy.
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Chironna
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Quarto
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Germinario
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Fontana
D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000379:methods*; D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015485:Deltaretrovirus Antigens; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies; D015485:Deltaretrovirus Antigens; D011994:Recombinant Proteins