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Absence of highly homologous sequence to HTLV-I in Japanese multiple sclerosis

Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.

We tried to detect HTLV-I-related sequences in Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis with a highly sensitive method that employs the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of genomic DNA followed by Southern blot hybridization analysis. To amplify HTLV-I sequences, we used primers for LTR, pol, gag, and env coding regions. Fourteen patients with definite MS, 14 disease controls, 12 normal controls, and 3 patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM) were investigated. Results of particle aggregation assay for HTLV-I antibodies were negative in serum from all subjects except for the 3 HAM patients. Neither the 14 MS patients nor the 26 controls showed the presence of any highly homologous sequences to HTLV-I. We did observe faint signals for gag, pol, and env coding regions only at low stringent hybridization in some MS patients as well as some normal controls. The nucleotide sequence analysis of the faint bands was more homologous to major histocompatibility complex molecules than the HTLV-I genome.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Kiyotoshi Kaneko. Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 1 Asahimachi-Dori, Niigata 951, Japan.

Supported in part by grants-in-aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture of Japan, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan.

Received April 2.1990. Accepted for publication in final form June 9.1990.

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