title: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I and II infections in patients with leukaemia/lymphoma and in subjects with sexually transmitted diseases in Nigeria.
abstract: Serological assays that distinguish antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were used to investigate association of these two human retroviruses with several well-defined clinical conditions in Nigeria. We compared the frequency of HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections among patients with lymphopholiferative disorders (n=65), individuals with various sexually transmitted diseases (n=40), patients with genitals candidiasis (n=25) and apparently healthy individuals (n=60). Serological analysis of blood samples from all four groups showed that 10 of the 190 (5.3%) individuals tested were confirmed positive for the presence of antibodies to HTLV-I(6) or HTLV-II(4). Using the PCR technique, specific HTLV-I or HTLV-II sequences were amplified from the genomic DNA of 4 of 6 HTLV-I seropositive and 3 of the 4 HTLV-II seropositive individuals respectively. However, sequences of both viruses were amplified from the genomic DNAs of the remaining 3 seropositive individuals. Since one of the 5 sets of primer pairs [SK110(II)/SK111(II)], which is used for specific identification of HTLV-II did not amplify the target sequence from the genomic DNAs of any of the 4 HTLV-II confirmed seropositive individuals in this study, it suggested sequence diversity of these viruses in Nigeria. The virus-infected individuals identified in this study were one (1.5%) of the 65 patients with leukaemia/lymphoma (HTLV-I), 6 of 40 (15.0%) individuals (HTLV-I = 1 , HTLV-II = 3, HTLV-I/II = 2) with sexually transmitted diseases (STD), one of 25(4.0%) subjects with genital candidiasis for HTLV-I and 2 of 60 (33.3%) healthy individuals (one for HTLV-I and one for HTLV-I/II). There was a significant difference (P < 0.025) between the prevalence of HTLV-I/II infections among patients with lymphoma/leukaemia and those who attended STD clinic in Ibadan, Nigeria. This study also suggests that while HTLV-I and HTLV-II may be important sexually transmitted viruses, they may not be specific aetiological agents of the common lymphoproliferative disorders in Nigeria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, College of Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: O D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Olaleye
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ekweozor
authors.forename: Z L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: I E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Opala
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Onyemenem
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rasheed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000150:complications*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies