Phylogenetic characterization of HTLV-1 from different populations in Argentina

EIRIN ME, BERINI C, DILERNIA D, PANDO M, AVILA MM, MARTINEZ PERALTA L, WEISSENBACHER MC, SALOMON H, BIGLIONE M

Hakone, Japan

Congreso; 13th International Conference on Human Retrovirology: HTLV and related retroviruses; 2007

The International Retrovirology Association

Background HTLV-1 is endemic in North West Argentina where aA Subtype has been detected in natives. This study shows the phylogenetic analysis of HTLV-1 from different groups of Buenos Aires and Salta (endemic area) of Argentina. Methods 45 HTLV-1 positive samples from blood donors (BD), injecting drug users (IDUs), female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM) and HAM/TSP patients were analyzed. Particle agglutination was used for the screening of Ab and reactive samples were confirmed by Western Blot. DNA was extracted with Qiagen extraction kit. The amplification of LTR region and env gene was performed by nested PCR. BioEdit sequence alignment editor and MEGA 3.0 were used to carry out the Neighbour Joining Tree (NJ). Results Phylogenetic analysis of LTR region showed that all samples clustered in the Cosmopolitan Subtype (a), Transcontinental Subgroup (A). Among them, 2 (a HAM/TSP patient from Peru and a BD from BA) grouped in a separate cluster with Bl3 from Peru and Br4 from Brazil, previously described as a divergent lineage within the Japanese subgroup. Env/LTR phylogenetic analysis confirmed the results obtained with the LTR region in the most of the samples. Conclusions This data confirms that HTLV-1 aA Subtype is the most frequent strain circulating in endemic and non endemic areas including at-risk populations in Argentina and suggests that this virus has been disseminated from natives in the Northwest region. The existence of divergent strains related to isolates from Brazil may imply the introduction of unusual strains in our country