Takuo Tanigawa

Bottle-feeding can prevent transmission of htlv-1 from mothers to their babies

Breast-feeding is a major factor in the vertical transmission of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). We studied whether such transmission may be prevented by bottle-feeding. HTLV-I infection was detected by both HTLV-I antigen and antibody tests. Thirty bottle-fed babies were examined 24 months after birth; only one was found to be HTLV-I antigen-positive. This infection rate was lower than that for breast-fed babies in whom HTLV-I antigen was detected in 24 of the 31 24-month-old babies born to HTLV-I positive mothers in a previous study. These results suggest that most vertical transmission of HTLV-I is attributable to breast-feeding and can be prevented by bottle-feeding.

Identification of HTLV‐I Sequence in Cord Blood Mononuclear Cells of Neonates Born to HTLV‐I Antigen/Antibody‐positive Mothers by Polymerase Chain Reaction

We developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method which has high sensitivity and simple technique in order to investigate the presence or absence of human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I) provirus in cord blood mononuclear cells of neonates born to HTLV‐I carrier mothers. Out of 40, three subjects were found to contain the HTLV‐I provirus genome. These three subjects remained HTLV‐I sequence‐positive in follow‐up study. On the other hand, when examined by a conventional technique for detection of HTLV‐I‐associated antigen on peripheral mononuclear cells, all 40 neonates were HTLV‐I‐associated antigen‐negative. These results suggest that PCR is more sensitive than the conventional antigen detection method and is useful in early detection of HTLV‐I infection in neonates born to HTLV‐I carriers.

Detection of HTLV-I Genome in Seronegative Infants Born to HTLV-I Seropositive Mothers by Polymerase Chain Reaction

We applied the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect gag, env and pX sequences of human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV‐I) provirus in peripheral blood lymphocytes of seronega‐tive infants born to HTLV‐I seropositive mothers. Out of 22, five subjects were found to contain the HTLV‐I provirus genome. Two of the five cases were judged to be negative for not only anti‐HTLV‐I antibodies but also the viral antigens on cultivated lymphocytes by the conventional antibody/antigen detection methods. These results indicate that PCR is of great use as a simple and highly sensitive method detect HTLV‐I infection.

Long-term serological outcome of infants who received frozen–thawed milk from human T-lymphotropic virus type-I positive mothers

Aim:  Human T‐lymphotropic virus type‐I (HTLV‐I) infection occurs via mothers’ milk during feeding. However, freeze–thaw processing can eliminate the infectivity of the mothers milk of HTLV‐I carriers.

Family study of women showing development of antibody to human T-cell leukemia virus I and assessment of the risk of vertical transmission of the virus to their children

When pregnant women were tested for antibody to human T-cell leukemia virus-I, some were found to be positive although they had been negative during the previous pregnancy. In these women, HTLV-I infection was found from pedigree studies to have been acquired from their mothers rather than from their husbands. Furthermore, some of them had apparently remained HTLV-I antibody-negative for long periods after infection. When the breast-fed children of these women, in whom HTLV-I was acquired from their mothers but who were in an HTLV-I antibody-negative state, were also examined for evidence of HTLV-I infection, none was found.