Detection of human T-cell leukemia virus type I proviral sequences from fixed tissues of seropositive patients.

Fixed lymphoma tissues from 11 patients seropositive for human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) antibodies were analyzed for proviral sequences by the polymerase chain reaction. Typical adult T-cell leukemia/lymphomas (ATLLs) from nine patients were positive for HTLV-I sequences. In contrast, one of two lymphomas with immunophenotypes atypical for ATLL was negative for HTLV-I. This HTLV-I DNA-negative lymphoma, although present in an HTLV-I-seropositive patient, was therefore reclassified. The HTLV-I tax gene was always detected in the ATLL tissues, whereas segments of the pol gene were not detected in half the cases. These studies demonstrate that fixed non-ATLL specimens can be distinguished from ATLL specimens.