This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lal, R B Articles by Kaplan, J E Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lal, R B Articles by Kaplan, J E

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Clin Microbiol. 1991 October; 29(10): 2253-2258

Synthetic peptide-based immunoassays for distinguishing between human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and type II infections in seropositive individuals.

Retrovirus Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.

ABSTRACT

Until now, serologic tests that distinguish the closely related human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I (HTLV-I) and II (HTLV-II) infections have not been available. Synthetic peptide assays, employing peptides derived from the core and envelope proteins of HTLV-I and HTLV-II (SynthEIA and Select-HTLV tests), were evaluated for the ability to serologically discriminate HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections. Of 32 HTLV-I- and 57 HTLV-II-positive serum specimens from individuals whose infections were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction, the SynthEIA test categorized 29 (91%) as HTLV-I and 50 (88%) as HTLV-II, and 10 (11%) were nontypeable. In contrast, the Select-HTLV test categorized 32 (100%) as HTLV-I and 55 (96%) as HTLV-II, and 2 (2%) were nontypeable. The specificity of both the assays in seropositive serum specimens was 100% in that none of the specimens were incorrectly classified. Additional serum specimens obtained from clinically diseased patients from the United States (n = 8) and asymptomatic carriers and patients from Japan (an endemic population for HTLV-I; n = 40) were categorized as HTLV-I by at least one of the assays, while serum specimens from Guaymi Indians from Panama (an endemic population for HTLV-II; n = 13) were categorized as HTLV-II. Thus, peptide enzyme immunoassays appear to represent a simple technique employing chemically synthesized antigens for discrimination between antibodies of HTLV-I and HTLV-II.