title: The simian T-lymphotropic/leukemia virus from Pan paniscus belongs to the type 2 family and infects Asian macaques.
abstract: The proviral DNA of the simian T-leukemia/lymphotropic virus (STLV) isolate, originally obtained from a captive colony of pygmy chimpanzees (Pan paniscus) (STLV(pan-p)), was cloned from the DNA of the chronically infected human T-cell line L93-79B. The entire proviral DNA sequence was obtained and compared with sequences of the known genotypes of STLV and human T-leukemia/lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and -2). Phylogenetic analysis indicates that STLV-2(pan-p) is an early divergence within the type 2 lineage and should be referred to as STLV-2(pan-p). Since STLV-2(pan-p) has been found in African nonhuman primates, we investigated its infectiousness and pathogenicity in Asian monkeys. Pigtailed macaques were inoculated with human cells harboring STLV(pan-p), and infection was assessed by virus isolation, PCR analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and seroconversion against viral antigens in HTLV-1/HTLV-2 and Western blot assay. Pigtailed macaques became persistently infected by STLV-2(pan-p), and the virus could be transferred by blood transfusion from an infected pigtailed macaque to a rhesus macaque. In addition, like HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, STLV-2(pan-p) was infectious in rabbits. In summary, STLV-2(pan-p) is a novel retrovirus distantly related to HTLV-2 and displays a host range similar to that demonstrated for other HTLV and STLV strains.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Basic Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4255, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Digilio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giri
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slattery
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Markham
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Franchini
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry; D016679:Genome, Viral; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000145:classification; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000145:classification; D008254:Macaca nemestrina / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011817:Rabbits; D015303:Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral