ИСТИНА

HTLV-1 cause T-cell leukamia, neurodegenerative disease (HAM/TSP) and likely several autoimmune diseases. HTLV-1 involvement in MF is still a question of contraversion. MF is a slow progressing cutaneous form of T-cell lymphoma. Disease frequency is increasing worldwide. Earlier HTLV-1 tax nucleotide sequences were reported in a majority of MF patients. Usually MF patients are seronegative for the antibodies to HTLV-1 structural proteins. In some cases seronegative results could be explained by defective genomes present in MF patients. Blood samples from 50 MF patients living in Moscow and Moscow region were examined by PCR with tax and LTR primers followed by Southern hybridization. DNA was extracted from PBMCs. Tax sequences were detected in 20 patients. 9 PCR amplimers were sequenced. Three amplimers were identical and six contained different point mutations. HTLV-1 5'LTR sequence was detected in only one individual and 7 unique point mutations were revealed in a nearly 600 bp sequenced fragment. Tax transcripts were revealed in 2/2 patients. All sera samples were negative for the antibodies to HTLV-1 structural proteins as shown by Western bloc. Our data are in favor of HTLV-1 tax association with MF patients from European Russia.