       Document 0617
 DOCN  M9610617
 TI    Quantification of HTLV-II proviral copies by competitive polymerase
       chain reaction in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Italian
       injecting drug users, central Africans, and Amerindians.
 DT    9601
 AU    Cimarelli A; Duclos CA; Gessain A; Cattaneo E; Casoli C; Biglione M;
       Mauclere P; Bertazzoni U; Istituto di Genetica Biochimica ed
       Evoluzionistica del CNR,; Pavia, Italy.
 SO    J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1995 Oct 1;10(2):198-204.
       Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/96007284
 AB    To better correlate the burden of human T cell leukemia virus type I
       (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II) infection with diagnostic and prognostic
       markers, we developed a new competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
       assay for the quantitative determination of proviral copy numbers in
       infected cells. A competitive plasmid was constructed that carried a
       112-bp fragment from a highly conserved region of the HTLV tax gene and
       that was further modified by inserting a sequence of 24 bp. This
       competitive PCR assay system can be used for the quantification of
       HTLV-I and HTLV-II proviral DNA as demonstrated by using HTLV-I- and
       HTLV-II-infected cell lines and/or patient material. We determined the
       HTLV-II proviral load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of
       11 Italian injecting drug users (IDUs) infected by this virus and in
       PBMCs of 10 seropositive Amerindian and Central African individuals from
       endemically infected ethnic groups. A great variation was observed in
       the number of HTLV-II proviral sequences in the PBMCs of Italian drug
       abusers, ranging from 5-10 to 16,239 copies/10(5) cells. There was no
       clear-cut correlation between proviral load, CD8 count, stage of HIV-1
       infection, and therapy. A considerable variation in HTLV-II proviral
       load was also observed in PBMCs of Amerindians and Central Africans with
       no correlation between the amount of HTLV-II provirus and the geographic
       origin of the infected individuals.
 DE    Adolescence  Adult  Africa, Central  Argentina  Cell Line  Cohort
       Studies  DNA, Viral/*ANALYSIS  Ethnic Groups  Female  Genes, pX/GENETICS
       Human  HTLV-I/GENETICS  HTLV-I Infections/VIROLOGY  HTLV-II/*GENETICS
       HTLV-II Infections/ETHNOLOGY/*VIROLOGY  Indians, South American  Italy
       Leukocytes, Mononuclear/*VIROLOGY  Male  Middle Age  Polymerase Chain
       Reaction/METHODS  Proviruses/*GENETICS  Substance Abuse,
       Intravenous/*COMPLICATIONS  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

