title: HTLV-I/HTLV-II coinfection in an AIDS patient from São Paulo, Brazil.
abstract: A serological survey for HTLV infection identified an AIDS patient with HTLV-I/HTLV-II dual seroreactivity. Two further sequential blood samples were collected (samples A and B) for PCR, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), and sequence analyses of HTLV-I and HTLV-II strains. PCR analyses confirmed dual infection in both samples. Restriction digests of the env region amplified from sample A showed the presence of an HTLV-IIa subtype; the HTLV-II provirus was found to be defective in the pol and env regions in the second sample from this patient. RFLP analysis of the HTLV-II LTR region of both samples confirmed this finding and identified an a5/bzl restriction type. Nucleotide sequence analyses revealed full homology in the HTLV-I env and LTR regions and in the HTLV-II LTR region between the two samples. These findings document the first case of an HTLV-I/HTLV-II coinfection that was fully confirmed and characterized by means of molecular analyses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caterino-de-Araujo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favero
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de los Santos-Fortuna
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suleiman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chieco-Bianchi
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Calabrò
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA