Deleted HTLV provirus in peripheral blood cells of a patient with T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia |
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Authors: | Kensuke Kojima,Takashi Sawada,Masaki Yasukawa,Yoshinubu Matsuo,Yoshihiro Yakushijin,Hiroshi Narumi,Taichi Azuma,Hidetaka Takimoto,& Masamichi Hara |
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Affiliation: | Division of Haematology, Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital, Ehime,;Tsukuba Research Laboratories, Eisai Co. Ltd, Ibaraki,;First Department of Medicine, Ehime University Medical School, Ehime,;Fujisaki Cell Centre, Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories, Okayama, Japan |
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Abstract: | We describe the first case of T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) in which the peripheral blood cells contained a human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) related tax sequence. Serum screening tests for anti-HTLV-I/II antibodies were negative. Polymerase chain reaction disclosed the presence of an HTLV-I tax sequence in the peripheral blood. Other sets of oligonucleotide primers for HTLV-I gag , pol , env and the long terminal repeat regions and for the HTLV-II pol region were negative in the DNA of the cells. Although patients with T-PLL have been reported to be seronegative for HTLV-I, our findings point to the possibility that HTLV-I infection might be involved in the aetiology of at least some cases of T-PLL and that there may be alternative mechanisms involved in HTLV-associated leukaemogenesis. |
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Keywords: | T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia human T-lymphotropic virus deleted HTLV provirus HTLV-tax leukaemogenesis |
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