[Detection of HTLV-I virus in patients with myeloproliferative hemoblastoses]. / Vyiavlenie virusa HTLV-I u patsientov s mieloproliferativnymi gemoblastozami.

An association of HTLV-I virus with myelomonocytic leukemia was established by serologic and molecular-biologic procedures. Antibodies to one or two HTLV-I proteins were identified in 10 out of 30 patients with myelomonocytic leukemia; both antibodies to certain HTLV-I proteins and an integrated provirus were detected in 3 cases. Upon examination of donor blood, antibodies to one or two HTLV-I proteins were found in 0.8% cases, but only 0.3% of the examined donors were found positive to HTLV-I. This finding points to the presence of said virus in the population of Latvia.

[HTLV-I nucleotide sequence in the cell genome of a patient with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia]. / Nukleotidnye posledovatel'nosti HTLV-I v genome kletok patsienta s T-kletochnoi prolimfotsitarnoi leikemiei.

Molecular cloning has been done of DNA isolated from leukocytes of a patient with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. Three HTLV-I-containing recombinant clones have been obtained and their restriction-hybridization analysis performed. None of the clones contained a complete HTLV-I provirus. In all clones, there have been detected nucleotide sequences corresponding to the provirus env-pX-3' LTR region.

An investigation of the effect of antisense RNA gene on bovine leukaemia virus reproduction in cell culture.

A possible approach to control of bovine lymphoproliferative disease caused by bovine leukaemia virus (BLV) may be the development of an "antiviral information immunity" based on the effect of anti-sense RNA (asRNA). A numbers of constructs were obtained, under control of various promotors (herpesvirus thymidine kinase, T-antigen SV40 promoter), carrying as DNA against gene X, the expression product of which is a transactivator of viral transcription from the BLV LTR promotor. As a model system for the analysis of antiviral activity of constructs developed, cloned continuous cell lines of BLV-producing FLK cells were used. The level of BLV expression in cells transfected with the constructs was determined by various parameters. Differences were detected in different clones obtained from non-transfected cells, as well as variation between transfected clones, as measured by reverse transcriptase, competitive radio-immunoassay for BLV p24, the viral particle count on agar membrane, and the tumorigenicity for nude mice. The differences in inhibition of expression of BLV genes and their products may be explained in terms of the site of integration of asDNA and the number of integrated copies.

[Identification of HTLV-I markers in patients with hemoblastoses]. / Vyiavlenie markerov HTLV-I u bol'nykh s gemoblastozami.

Serologic and molecular biologic techniques were used to identify association of HTLV-1 with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma as well as with B-cell leukemia. HTLV-1 markers (antibodies and integrated provirus) were identified in all lympho- and myeloproliferative diseases, while integrated provirus genome--in T-cell population only.