Open AccessNucleotide sequence analysis of the long terminal repeat of human T-cell leukemia virus type II.
Author(s) -
Kunitada Shimotohno,
David W. Golde,
Miwa Misawa,
Takashi Sügimura,
I S Chen
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.81.4.1079
Subject(s) - long terminal repeat , provirus , biology , nucleic acid sequence , inverted repeat , nucleotide , murine leukemia virus , microbiology and biotechnology , transcription (linguistics) , virology , leukemia , human t lymphotropic virus 1 , genetics , direct repeat , virus , t cell leukemia , gene , gene expression , genome , linguistics , philosophy
The nucleotide sequence of the human T-cell leukemia virus type II (HTLV-II) long terminal repeat (LTR) and its surrounding regions were determined. Our results show the following structural features: (i) the LTR is 763 base pairs (bp) in length and consists of 314 +/- 1 bp of region U3, 248 +/- 1 bp of region R, and 201 bp of region U5; (ii) the terminal nucleotides in the LTR form an inverted repeat of T-GC-A; (iii) 6-bp direct repeats of cellular sequences flanking the provirus were present; and (iv) the putative functional signals for initiation or termination of viral RNA synthesis were identified. Comparison of the HTLV-II LTR sequence with that previously published for adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV; HTLV-I) shows that the LTRs are distinct. Some small regions are conserved between HTLV-II and ATLV, involving sequences important for transcription and a sequence of 21 nucleotides repeated three times in U3. This 21-bp repeat may be important in regulating viral transcription in lymphoid cells.