title: Intrafamilial transmission of HTLV-I and its association with anti-Tax antibody in an endemic population in Japan.
abstract: To assess the relationship of anti-Tax antibody to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I) transmission, the sero-prevalence of HTLV-I was analyzed among married couples and among mother/child (both adults) pairs. HTLV-I seroprevalence was significantly higher among wives with anti-Tax+ than those with anti-Tax- HTLV-I carrier husbands (82.4% vs. 59.5%). However, in the group of wives aged 60 years or older, there was no statistical difference in HTLV-I seropositivity based on the husbands' anti-Tax sero-status. In the group whose wives were less than 60 years old, more anti-Tax sero-positive than sero-negative husbands had high DNA levels (57.1% and 20.0%), whereas in the group of husbands whose wives were aged 60 years or older, the number of anti-Tax sero-positive and sero-negative individuals with high DNA levels was similar. HTLV-I sero-prevalence was significantly higher among the adult men with anti-Tax+ carrier mothers than those with anti-Tax- carrier mothers (52.0% vs. 14.3%). For women, HTLV-I sero-prevalence did not differ significantly according to their mothers' anti-Tax sero-status. Our results suggest that the presence of anti-Tax antibody in HTLV-I carriers is an age-dependent risk factor for male-to-female HTLV-I transmission. Furthermore, the effect of the mother's anti-Tax antibody as a risk factor for vertical HTLV-I transmission could be observed in men even after becoming adults.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Miyazaki Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shioiri
authors.forename: S O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Stuver
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okayama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shima
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsubouchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Essex
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005190:Family; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D016356:Gene Products, tax / Q000276:immunology*; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D016356:Gene Products, tax; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies