Molecular characterization of human T cell leukemia virus type 1 subtypes in a group of infected individuals diagnosed in Portugal and Spain

Over the past decade, Portugal and Spain received large numbers of immigrants from HTLV-1 endemic areas. Our aim was to investigate the diversity of subtypes circulating in these two countries and the introduction of new variants. We performed a molecular analysis of HTLV-1 strains in patients diagn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAIDS research and human retroviruses Vol. 27; no. 3; p. 317
Main Authors Pádua, Elizabeth, Rodés, Berta, Pérez-Piñar, Teresa, Silva, Ana Filipa, Jiménez, Victoria, Ferreira, Filipa, Toro, Carlos
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.2011
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Base Sequence
Child
DNA, Viral - genetics
Female
Genes, env - genetics
Genetic Variation
HTLV-I Infections - classification
HTLV-I Infections - epidemiology
HTLV-I Infections - genetics
Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - classification
Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - genetics
Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - isolation & purification
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Sequence Data
Molecular Typing
Phylogeny
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Portugal - epidemiology
Spain - epidemiology
Terminal Repeat Sequences - genetics
Portugal
Spain
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Summary:Over the past decade, Portugal and Spain received large numbers of immigrants from HTLV-1 endemic areas. Our aim was to investigate the diversity of subtypes circulating in these two countries and the introduction of new variants. We performed a molecular analysis of HTLV-1 strains in patients diagnosed since 1998. LTR and env proviral sequences from 26 individuals were analyzed to generate phylogenetic trees along with reference HTLV-1 subtypes from several geographic origins. Epidemiological and clinical data were recorded. Most subjects were immigrants (57.7%) from South America and Africa. All isolates belonged to the cosmopolitan A subtype. Most carried the transcontinental subgroup A, but five subjects carried subgroup D and one carried subgroup C, previously unreported in Europe. HTLV strains showed separate clusters linked to the patients' geographic origin. Although subjects with HTLV-1 infection tend not to be engaged in high-risk practices, silent dissemination of a broad diversity of HTLV-1 viruses may still occur.
ISSN:1931-8405
DOI:10.1089/aid.2010.0195