TY - JOUR T1 - HTLV Tax gene expression in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders. JF - Journal of Clinical Pathology JO - J Clin Pathol SP - 938 LP - 941 DO - 10.1136/jcp.49.11.938 VL - 49 IS - 11 AU - E A Cardoso AU - N Miranda AU - P Gameiro AU - M J Frade AU - M Figueiredo AU - A Parreira Y1 - 1996/11/01 UR - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/49/11/938.abstract N2 - AIMS: To study the expression of the human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) Tax gene in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. METHODS: Blood was collected from 72 patients with lymphoproliferative disorders. Serum from all patients was assayed for antibodies directed against HTLV-I structural proteins by ELISA and western blotting. RNA was purified from fresh blood cells and amplified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After Southern blotting, the PCR products were hybridised with a 32P end-labelled probe specific for the Tax gene. RESULTS: All samples were seronegative. A specific band for the Tax gene was found in five samples. Each of the patients positive for Tax gene expression had a different type of lymphoproliferative disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Infection by HTLV-I cannot be assessed solely by immunological assays, particularly when only disrupted virions are used. Sensitive molecular biology assays are essential for detecting viral gene expression in fresh blood cells. ER -