title: Intrahost variations in the envelope receptor-binding domain (RBD) of HTLV-1 and STLV-1 primary isolates.
abstract: Four primate (PTLV), human (HTLV) and simian (STLV) T-cell leukemia virus types, have been characterized thus far, with evidence of a simian zoonotic origin for HTLV-1, HTLV-2 and HTLV-3 in Africa. The PTLV envelope glycoprotein surface component (SUgp46) comprises a receptor-binding domain (RBD) that alternates hypervariable and highly conserved sequences. To further delineate highly conserved motifs in PTLV RBDs, we investigated the intrahost variability of HTLV-1 and STLV-1 by generating and sequencing libraries of DNA fragments amplified within the RBD of the SUgp46 env gene. Using new and highly cross-reactive env primer pairs, we observed the presence of Env quasispecies in HTLV-1 infected individuals and STLV-1 naturally infected macaques, irrespective of the clinical status. These intrahost variants helped us to define highly conserved residues and motifs in the RBD. The new highly sensitive env PCR described here appears suitable for the screening of all known variants of the different PTLV types and should, therefore, be useful for the analysis of seroindeterminate samples.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier (IGMM), 1919 Rte de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. kimf@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Felix J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Madakasira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavanya
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessain
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Battini
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sitbon
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Courgnaud
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006800:Deltaretrovirus Infections / Q000635:transmission; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D011323:Primates; D015303:Simian T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015047:Zoonoses
chemical_list: D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins