Summary
Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), proviral DNA sequences of thepol andenv regions of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) were directly amplified in paraffin-embedded and frozen tissue sections of active inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) lesions in three autopsy cases of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM) with serological confirmation. In parallel, the enumeration of UCHL-1 (monoclonal antibody reactive to T-cells) positive cells in the tissue sections subjected to PCR were carried out. Although the control DNA sequence of parathyroid hormone-like peptide gene was definitely amplified, no signals for HTLV-I proviral sequences were detected in these specimens. The number of UCHL-1 positive cell nuclei was almost on the border line of our PCR sensitivity in formalin-fixed tissue, which was estimated to be 20–200 copies. Therefore, it is unlikely that the central nervous system tissue damage in HAM/TSP is a consequence of productive infection of HTLV-I in the CNS tissue.
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Ohara, Y., Iwasaki, Y., Izumo, S. et al. Search for human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) proviral sequences by polymerase chain reaction in the central nervous system tissue of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. Archives of Virology 124, 31–43 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314623
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314623