title: The presence of ancient human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I provirus DNA in an Andean mummy.
abstract: The worldwide geographic and ethnic clustering of patients with diseases related to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) may be explained by the natural history of HTLV-I infection. The genetic characteristics of indigenous people in the Andes are similar to those of the Japanese, and HTLV-I is generally detected in both groups. To clarify the common origin of HTLV-I in Asia and the Andes, we analyzed HTLV-I provirus DNA from Andean mummies about 1,500 years old. Two of 104 mummy bone marrow specimens yielded a band of human beta-globin gene DNA 110 base pairs in length, and one of these two produced bands of HTLV-I-pX (open reading frame encoding p40x, p27x) and HTLV-I-LTR (long terminal repeat) gene DNA 159 base pairs and 157 base pairs in length, respectively. The nucleotide sequences of ancient HTLV-I-pX and HTLV-I-LTR clones isolated from mummy bone marrow were similar to those in contemporary Andeans and Japanese, although there was microheterogeneity in the sequences of some mummy DNA clones. This result provides evidence that HTLV-I was carried with ancient Mongoloids to the Andes before the Colonial era. Analysis of ancient HTLV-I sequences could be a useful tool for studying the history of human retroviral infection as well as human prehistoric migration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8520, Japan.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujiyoshi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yashiki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sonoda
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cartier
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nunez
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tajima
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000266:history; D001483:Base Sequence; D002677:Chile; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016355:Genes, pX; D005914:Globins / Q000235:genetics; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000266:history* / Q000821:virology; D049690:History, Ancient; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009106:Mummies / Q000821:virology*; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic / Q000235:genetics; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences; D014157:Transcription Factors; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015682:Retroviridae Proteins, Oncogenic; D014157:Transcription Factors; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C072343:pX protein, Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; D005914:Globins; D004247:DNA