HTLV-V: a new human retrovirus isolated in a Tac-negative T cell lymphoma/leukemia |
| |
Authors: | V Manzari A Gismondi G Barillari S Morrone A Modesti L Albonici L De Marchis V Fazio A Gradilone M Zani |
| |
Institution: | Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche II, Università di Roma, Tor Vergata, Italy. |
| |
Abstract: | A new human retrovirus was isolated from a continuous cell line derived from a patient with CD4+ Tac- cutaneous T cell lymphoma/leukemia. This virus is related to but distinct from human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus types I and II (HTLV-I and HTLV-II) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). With the use of a fragment of provirus cloned from one patient with T cell leukemia, closely related sequences were found in DNA of the cell line and of tumor cells from seven other patients with the same disease; these sequences were only distantly related to HTLV-I. The phenotype of the cells and the clinical course of the disease were clearly distinguishable from leukemia associated with HTLV-I. All patients and the wife of one patient showed a weak serological cross-reactivity with both HTLV-I and HIV-1 antigens. None of the patients proved to be at any apparent risk for HIV-1 infection. The name proposed for this virus is HTLV-V, and the date indicate that it may be a primary etiological factor in the major group of cutaneous T cell lymphomas/leukemias, including the sporadic lymphomas known as mycoses fungoides. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|