title: Human T-cell leukemia virus infection of human hematopoietic progenitor cells: maintenance of virus infection during differentiation in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy-tropical spastic paraparesis. We examined whether HTLV could productively infect human hematopoietic progenitor cells. CD34+ cells were enriched from human fetal liver cells and cocultivated with cell lines transformed with HTLV-1 and -2. HTLV-1 infection was established in between 10 and >95% of the enriched CD34+ cell population, as demonstrated by quantitative PCR analysis. HTLV-1 p19 Gag expression was also detected in infected hematopoietic progenitor cells. HTLV-1-infected hematopoietic progenitor cells were cultured in semisolid medium permissive for the development of erythbroid (BFU-E), myeloid (CFU-GM), and primitive progenitor (CFU-GEMM, HPP-CFC, or CFU-A) colonies. HTLV-1 sequences were detected in colonies of all hematopoietic lineages; furthermore, the ratio of HTLV genomes to the number of human cells in each infected colony was 1:1, consistent with each colony arising from a single infected hematopoietic progenitor cell. Severe combined immunodeficient mice engrafted with human fetal thymus and liver tissues (SCID-hu) develop a conjoint organ which supports human thymocyte differentiation and maturation. Inoculation of SCID-hu mice with HTLV-1-infected T cells or enriched populations of CD34+ cells established viral infection of thymocytes 4 to 6 weeks postreconstitution. Thymocytes from two mice with the greatest HTLV-1 proviral burdens showed increased expression of the CD25 marker and the interleukin 2 receptor alpha chain and perturbation of CD4+ and CD8+ thymocyte subset distribution profiles. Hematopoietic progenitor cells and thymuses may be targets for HTLV infection in humans, and these events may play a role in the pathogenesis associated with infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, 90095-1678, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feuer
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zack
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feuer
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000032:analysis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000821:virology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34