Common human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) integration sites in cerebrospinal fluid and blood lymphocytes of patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis indicate that HTLV-1 crosses the blood-brain barrier via clonal HTLV-1-infected cells.
In the spinal cord of patients with human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), infiltrating CD4(+) lymphocytes seem to be the major reservoir for the virus. Little, however, is known about the mechanisms by which HTLV-1 crosses the blood-brain barrier. An oligoclonal proliferation of HTLV-1-infected CD4 lymphoid T cells is present in the peripheral blood of all HTLV-1-infected individuals. Here, such oligoclonal distribution of HTLV-1-infected cells is evidenced in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) derived from 5 patients with HAM/TSP. Furthermore, clonal populations of HTLV-1-infected lymphocytes sharing the same HTLV-1 proviral flanking sequences (i.e. , integration sites in the cellular DNA), and thus derived from a single HTLV-1-infected progenitor, were found, for a given patient, in both the CSF and the peripheral blood. These data demonstrate that HTLV-1 crosses the blood-brain barrier by migration of HTLV-1-infected lymphocytes in vivo.
Cavrois
M
M
INSERM U524, Institut de Recherche sur le Cancer, Lille, France.
Gessain
A
A
Gout
O
O
Wain-Hobson
S
S
Wattel
E
E
D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000276:immunology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016662:Virus Integration
D017931:DNA Primers