QUANTITATION OF HTLV-I PROVIRUS AMONG SEROPOSITIVE BLOOD-DONORS - RELATION WITH ANTIBODY PROFILE USING SYNTHETIC PEPTIDES

To study the pathophysiological state of HTLV-1 carriers and the quantitative aspect of the risk of HTLV-1 infection, we measured the absolute amounts of HTLV-1 provirus in 39 seropositive blood donors. The amount of provirus varied from less than one to more than 10(4) molecules per 10(5) peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The average amount of HTLV-1 provirus among seropositive blood donors was estimated as 3.7 x 10(3) molecules per 10(5) PBMC. The titer of the antibody against only the synthetic peptide (aa 100 to 130) of the gag p19 region of the HTLV-1 provirus showed a weak but significant correlation with the amount of the provirus. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.