title: Tissue tropism of the TTV in experimentally infected rhesus monkeys.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) is hepatotropic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total DNA was extracted from various tissues of 5 experimentally infected Rhesus monkeys during the viremic period. A dot hybridization was done with viral double stranded DNA probes or single antisense probes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The double-stranded probe was hybridized with DNA from the liver, bone marrow, spleen,stomach, small intestine and colon. The single-stranded antisense probe was hybridized with DNA from the liver, small intestine and bone marrow of all 5 monkeys, but not with that from other tissues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As the viral genome was of negative polarity, the plus-stranded fragment identified in our study might be a replicative intermediate, and was only demonstrated in the liver, small intestine, and bone marrow by dot blot hybridization with single-stranded antisense probes. It is suggested that the TTV replicates in the liver, bone marrow and small intestine, and TTV might be hepatotropic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Guangzhou 510515, China. doctorxiao@163.net
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Kangxian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Shouchang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yanjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Weifang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000821:virology; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000821:virology; D008099:Liver / Q000821:virology; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral