Characterization of htlv‐i isolates and t lymphoid cell lines derived from french west indian patients with tropical spastic paraparesis

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Lymphoid cell lines derived from the peripheral blood of French West Indian patients with HTLV‐I sero‐positive Tropical Spastic Paraparesis and HTLV‐I isolates were characterized. While patients' peripheral blood lymphocytes did not express detectable HTLV‐I antigens when uncultured, they did so after short‐term culture. Established cell lines were of T‐cell lineage: CD2+, CD3+, CD4+, CD7+, WT31+ with activated T‐cell markers CD25+ DR+ and a clonal rearrangement of the ß and γ genes of the T‐cell receptor. HTLV‐I antigens were detected in cell lines by indirect immunofluorescence, Western blot and radio‐immunoprecipitation assays. After 4 months in culture, low levels of Mg2+ dependent reverse transcriptase activity were detected and electron microscopy revealed numerous type‐C retroviral particles similar to HTLV‐I virions. Western blot and radio‐immunoprecipitation analysis of purified viruses revealed gp46, p24, p19 and Pr53gag proteins similar to those detected in HUT 102 and MT2 cell lines. Deep analysis of env‐coded precursor of one TSP versus ATL isolates revealed minor differences in their molecular weights. Southern blot analysis using 32P HTLV‐I env gene as a probe showed the presence of HTLV‐I proviral fragments clonally integrated into the genome of the cell lines. Our data suggest that HTLV‐I isolated from Tropical Spastic Paraparesis does not differ significantly from the leukemogenic prototypes. Does HTLV‐I induce either acute lymphoproliferative diseases or chronic neuromyelopathies depending upon as yet unknown co‐factors? This question remains to be determined.