No evidence of vertical transmission of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in children at high risk for HIV-1 infection from Sao Paulo, Brazil

One hundred and seven plasma specimens obtained from children born to HIV-1 infected mothers were tested for the presence of antibody to human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I and -II) to determine perinatal t ransmission of these agents, None of the children in this study were breast fed, Fifty-five specimens were from HIV-1 infected children, 28 from HIV-1 non-infected children, and in 24 eases the HIV-1 status could not be define d, In these series, when ELISA screening tests were employed, HTLV antibodi es mere detected hr 54.5 17.9, and 37.5 per cent of cases, respectively, gi ven an overall ratio of 41.1 per: cent, Western blot analysis disclosed 17 specimens with some HTLV reactivity: three,were classified as HTLV-I/II, tw o confirmed as having a HTLV-P Western blot profile, and the last 32 sample s showed reactivity to only one of the protein (gag or env) components. In 11 out of 17 cases molecular approaches were used to confirm HTLV infection in children; no ease of HTLV-I or -II was detected. In contrast, when 13 s pecimens of mother-child pairs were analysed, three mothers' plasma samples which were seropositive were confirmed to have HTLV infection by PCR analy sis; one case of HTLV-I and two cases of HTLV-II infections were detected. Taking into account the age of the children and their Western blot profiles , passive maternal antibodies could be detected until the age of 15 months, Indeed, after the age of 18 months seroreactivity amongst the children, wi th ELISA and Western blot assays, suggests the presence of maternal antibod ies that resist degradation and/or antibodies that cross-react with rgp21 o r p19 antigens from HTLV, or alternatively, with components of the HIV-1. T hese results emphasize the lack of HTLV-I and -II vertical transmission in children at high risk who are not breastfed.