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The presence of particles resembling human T‐cell leukemia virus type I at ultrastructural examination of lymphomatous cells in a case of T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma
Author(s) -
Vital Claude,
Vital Anne,
Moynet Daniel,
Broustet Antoine,
de Mascarel Antoine,
Bloch Bertrand,
Guillemain Bernard
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19930401)71:7<2227::aid-cncr2820710711>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - pathology , leukemia , medicine , lymphoma , ultrastructure , biopsy , immunology
Background . Cases of adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) resulting from human T‐cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV‐I) have been observed mainly in the southern part of Japan. Recently, the authors performed a second examination of cutaneous, muscle, and nerve biopsy specimens from a French white woman who died of ATLL in 1979. Methods . A 67‐year‐old white woman had a lymphoma diagnosed on a lymph node biopsy. She then had acute pains and a thickened skin on both legs. Blood examination showed a leukocyte count of 16,000/ml with 75% leukemia T‐cells. Biopsies were performed on the antero‐external surface of the right leg. She died after 2 years of illness. Results . Lymphomatous infiltrates of T‐cell origin were seen in the dermis, between muscle fibers, and in a peripheral nerve. The recent ultrastructural examination of a few vacuoles located in the cytoplasm of certain lymphomatous cells showed rounded structures mixed with larger virus‐like formations having a central nucleoid and spike material around the envelope. Polymerase chain reaction experiments performed on deparaffinized sections demonstrated the presence of a tax sequence homologous to that of HTLV‐I. Other structural genes were not detected. Conclusions . These results contrast with other ultrastructural studies in which HTLV‐I was detected only after cultivation of leukemia cells from patients with ATLL. This case probably resulted from an HTLV‐I variant.