Structural and epidemiological features of primate lymphotropic retroviruses

Primate lymphotropic retroviruses (PLRV) have been isolated from man and various species of Old World monkeys. The human isolates adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV) or human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I) are endemic among Japanese in the south-west of the country as well as Africans in both Africa and America. In these populations ATL and its lymphoma variant are also endemic and all these patients harbor the virus and have serum antibodies to viral env gene polypeptides gp68, gp46, p21 as well as core polypeptides p24, p19, and p15. ATLV and respective viral antibodies are very rare outside the endemic areas. Retroviruses structurally and serologically related have been found in various species of Old World monkeys especially in macaques. The human lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV) later also known as HTLV-III most probably is the etiological agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in man and related syndromes. LAV/HTLV-III is highly endemic in certain parts of the population of America and Europe and apparently also in Africa. Human antisera react with viral envelope related gp120, gp100, gp46, and core related p24, p21, and p15 polypeptides. In our assays LAV/HTLV-III does not crossreact serologically with ATLV/HTLV-I and its major structural polypeptides may be related distantly to primate lymphotropic retroviruses (PLRVs) isolated from macaques but not to ATLV/HTLV-I.