Transmission of HTLV-I to rats via peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum from a patient with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-like features
M. Miller et al., Transmission of HTLV-I to rats via peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum from a patient with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-like features, J ACQ IMM D, 20(4), 1999, pp. 403-407
We tested the possibility that lymphocytes and serum obtained directly from
a patient with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (
HAM/TSP) induce infection in rats. Inbred Fischer F344 immunosupressed rats
were inoculated intravenously with 10 x 10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear
cells (PBMC; 3 rats) and serum (3 rats) obtained from a HAM/TSP patient, w
ho was seropositive and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive for the HT
LV-I proviral genome. Antibodies to HTLV-I appeared in the rat sera 2 month
s later; rat peripheral blood lymphocytes, spleen, salivary gland, and spin
al cord were found to contain the proviral genome. Control rats inoculated
with normal donor PBMC and serum tested negative for the HTLV-I antibodies
and for the HTLV-I proviral genome by PCR. The positive control F344 rats i
noculated with 5 x 10(6) cells of a SLB-1 HTLV-I cell line were found to be
infected after 2 months. This study demonstrates for the first time that H
TLV-I can be transmitted not only by human cellular components but also by
human cell-free sera in a rat model.