Isolation of HTLV-II from a patient with chronic, progressive neurological disease clinically indistinguishable from HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis.
An increasing spectrum of diseases has been shown to be associated with the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), most notably a chronic, progressive myelopathy termed HTLV-I--associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and adult T-cell leukemia. HTLV-II is a close relative of HTLV-I and is structurally similar but molecularly distinct. This virus is endemic in Amerindian populations and a high seroprevalence rate has been observed in intravenous drug abusers. Here, for the first time, we have identified a patient with a chronic, progressive neurological disease clinically indistinguishable from HTLV-I--associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis from whom we have isolated and characterized HTLV-II in the absence of any other detectable human retrovirus. Antibodies to HTLV were detected in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid, with typical HTLV-II banding patterns on Western blots. HTLV-II viral sequences were detected in high copy number from peripheral lymphocytes by polymerase chain reaction techniques, and cloning and sequencing of this virus revealed a 99.5% homology with prototype HTLV-II. These results serve to alert the medical community to the possibility that in addition to HTLV-I, HTLV-II may be associated with a neurological disorder.
Jacobson
S
S
Neuroimmunology Branch, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Lehky
T
T
Nishimura
M
M
Robinson
S
S
McFarlin
D E
DE
Dhib-Jalbut
S
S
D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology
D004279:DNA, Viral