Human T‐cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Can Infect a Wide Variety of Cells in Mice

Analysis of human T‐cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV‐1)‐infected cell types and the interplay of these infected cells in vivo should provide valuable information to elucidate the pathogenesis of HTLV‐1‐associated diseases in humans and in animal models. In this study, HTLV‐1‐infected cell types were identified in HTLV‐1‐infected C3H/HeJ mice. Pan T, CD(+)(4), CD8(+)(8), granulocyte and pan B cell fractions in the splenocytes of MT‐2 cell‐inoculated mice were sorted by use of their cell surface high‐density expression of CD(3e), CD(4), CD(8), Gr‐1 and B(220) antigens, respectively, with a fluorescence‐activated cell sorter. the pX sequence of HTLV‐1 provirus in the lysate of each fraction was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and detected by Southern hybridization. Interestingly, in addition to the CD(+)(4) cell fraction, the pX sequence was also found in CD8+ cell, B cell and granulocyte fractions. The broad cell spectrum of HTLV‐1 infection in mice is consistent with the situation in humans. Our findings indicate that HTLV‐1 receptor or coreceptor is widely distributed among different cell types in mice.