title: The phylogeny and molecular epidemiology of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II.
abstract: Phylogenetic analysis of long terminal repeat (LTR) sequences from 29 human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) strains from endemic and nonendemic populations led to the proposition of three HTLV-IIa phylogroups (A-I, A-II, and A-III) and four HTLV-IIb phylogroups (B-I, B-II, B-III, B-IV). B-I and B-II represented sequences from U.S. and European intravenous drug users, and B-IV included Amerindian sequences from the Guaymi and Wayuu. Interestingly, sequences from an African Pygmy and Seminole and Pueblo Indians and other non-India U.S. samples clustered together in B-III. Similarly, sequences from the Kayapo Indians from Brazil, a Brazilian blood donor, a Cameroonian, and a Ghanaian prostitute clustered together in A-II. Sequences from non-Indian U.S./European samples and a Pueblo Indian formed A-III. A restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay was developed to identify rapidly the prevalence of the A and B phylogroups in 246 HTLV-II samples. The RFLP results suggest that A-III and B-II may represent cosmopolitan subtypes because of global distribution in urban areas. In contrast, B-IV and A-II infections were restricted primarily to Central and South America. The phylogenetic data suggest a possible Amerindian origin for B-III, A-II, and A-III infections in non-Indians and an evolution into A and B subtypes that preceded population migrations to the Americas.
authors.affiliation: Retrovirus Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heneine
mesh_terms: D014644:Genetic Variation; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D018570:Risk Assessment