Deleted HTLV provirus in peripheral blood cells of a patient with T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia.
We describe the first case of T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) in which the peripheral blood cells contained a human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) related tax sequence. Serum screening tests for anti-HTLV-I/II antibodies were negative. Polymerase chain reaction disclosed the presence of an HTLV-I tax sequence in the peripheral blood. Other sets of oligonucleotide primers for HTLV-I gag, pol, env and the long terminal repeat regions and for the HTLV-II pol region were negative in the DNA of the cells. Although patients with T-PLL have been reported to be seronegative for HTLV-I, our findings point to the possibility that HTLV-I infection might be involved in the aetiology of at least some cases of T-PLL and that there may be alternative mechanisms involved in HTLV-associated leukaemogenesis.
Kojima
K
K
Division of Haematology, Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital, Japan.
Sawada
T
T
Yasukawa
M
M
Matsuo
Y
Y
Yakushijin
Y
Y
Narumi
H
H
Azuma
T
T
Takimoto
H
H
Hara
M
M
D001483:Base Sequence; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D015463:Leukemia, Prolymphocytic / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology*; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011533:Proviruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*