Cervicovaginal synthesis of IgG antibodies to the immunodominant 175-199 domain of the surface glycoprotein gp46 of human T-cell leukemia virus type I.
Paired sera, saliva and cervicovaginal secretions from 17 HTLV-I-infected women (19-75 yr) were tested for total IgA and IgG, for IgA and IgG to the immunodominant region gp46/175-Pro-199, for serum IgG to the neutralizing domains gp46/ 190-Pro-199 and gp46/190-Ser-199, or for tax-rex proviral HTLV-DNA. Serum antibodies to gp46/ 175-Pro-199 were detected more frequently in the IgG (13/17) than in the IgA (5/17) isotypes. The majority (8/12) of anti-gp46/175-Pro-199-positive sera reacted also to gp46/190-Pro-199 or to gp46/ 190-Ser-199, demonstrating their neutralizing properties. In saliva, antibodies to gp46/175-Pro-199 were not generally detected. In cervicovaginal secretions, IgG to gp46/175-Pro-199, but not IgA, were detected in 6/15 (40%) patients. The mean specific activity of IgG to gp46/175-Pro-199 showed a trend to be higher in cervicovaginal secretions (218 +/- 109) than in sera (14 +/- 4). Furthermore, in all patients with cervicovaginal IgG to gp46/175-Pro-199, the cervicogaginal/serum ratio (19 +/- 6) of anti-gp46 IgG specific activities were markedly above 1. HTLV-DNA was detected in 4/17 salivas, and in 3/15 cervicovaginal secretions, all from patients demonstrating cervicovaginal synthesis of IgG to gp46/175-Pro-199. In conclusion, IgG to gp46/175-Pro-199 in cervicovaginal secretions, when present, appear to be produced primarily locally because of local HTLV-I excretion. Since anti-gp46/175-Pro-199 antibodies usually support reactivities to neutralizing domains, their presence could be relevant for limiting HTLV-I transmission via cervicovaginal secretions.
Laboratory of Virology, Broussais Hospital, Paris, France.
L
L
Bélec
M C
MC
Georges-Courbot
A
A
Georges
A S
AS
Mohamed
D
D
Londos-Gagliardi
M C
MC
Hallouin
H
H
Hocini
B
B
Guillemain
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000276:immunology*; D016355:Genes, pX; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic / Q000276:immunology*; D014621:Vagina / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D015686:Gene Products, env; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010455:Peptides; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic; C055266:gp46 protein, Human T-cell leukemia virus type I