The clonal expansion of human T lymphotropic virus type 1-infected T cells: a comparison between seroconverters and long-term carriers.
BACKGROUND
The clonal expansion of human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected T cells is considered to be important for the maintenance of infection. However, the process by which the clonality of HTLV-1-infected T cells is established is not understood.


METHODS
HTLV-1 clonality in 4 adult seroconverters was analyzed by inverse long polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by cloning of the PCR products and evaluation of restriction fragment-length polymorphism. The results were compared with those for 8 long-term HTLV-1 carriers.


RESULTS
The clonality of HTLV-1-infected T cells in the seroconverters arose stochastically and was variable 3-5 years after seroconversion. On the basis of the frequency with which clones of cells infected with unique HTLV-1 provirus integration sites appeared, it was clear that the seroconverters had a greater number of unique clones with fewer infected cells than did the long-term carriers.


CONCLUSIONS
The clonality of the HTLV-1-infected T cells in the adult seroconverters, who had been newly infected via HTLV-1-carrier spouses, was more heterogeneous and less stable than that of the HTLV-1-infected T cells in long-term carriers, who were more likely to have been infected during infancy. The mechanism for the selective maintenance of certain clones in asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers likely plays a role in the initiation of leukemogenesis.
Tanaka
Gen-ichi
G
Department of Internal Medicine II, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Kiyotake, Miyazaki, Japan.
Okayama
Akihiko
A
Watanabe
Toshiki
T
Aizawa
Shigemi
S
Stuver
Sherri
S
Mueller
Nancy
N
Hsieh
Chung-Cheng
CC
Tsubouchi
Hirohito
H
D000368:Aged; D002353:Carrier State / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D002999:Clone Cells; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000821:virology*; D016662:Virus Integration
D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies