Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 can infect a wide variety of cells in mice.

Analysis of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected cell types and the interplay of these infected cells in vivo should provide valuable information to elucidate the pathogenesis of HTLV-1-associated diseases in humans and in animal models. In this study, HTLV-1-infected cell types were identified in HTLV-1-infected C3H/HeJ mice. Pan T, CD4+, CD8+, granulocyte and pan B cell fractions in the splenocytes of MT-2 cell-inoculated mice were sorted by use of their cell surface high-density expression of CD3e, CD4, CD8, Gr-1 and B220 antigens, respectively, with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The pX sequence of HTLV-1 provirus in the lysate of each fraction was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and detected by Southern hybridization. Interestingly, in addition to the CD4+ cell fraction, the pX sequence was also found in CD8+ cell, B cell and granulocyte fractions. The broad cell spectrum of HTLV-1 infection in mice is consistent with the situation in humans. Our finding indicate that HTLV-1 receptor or coreceptor is widely distributed among different cell types in mice.