@article {Mori138, author = {S Mori and A Mizoguchi and M Kawabata and H Fukunaga and K Usuku and I Maruyama and M Osame}, title = {Bronchoalveolar lymphocytosis correlates with human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) proviral DNA load in HTLV-I carriers}, volume = {60}, number = {2}, pages = {138--143}, year = {2005}, doi = {10.1136/thx.2004.021667}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group Ltd}, abstract = {Background: A study was undertaken to investigate the pathogenesis of pulmonary involvement in human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) carriers. Methods: The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cell profile of 30 HTLV-I carriers (15 asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers (AHCs) and 15 symptomatic HTLV-I carriers (SHCs)) with chronic inflammatory diseases of respiratory tract and eight patients with HTLV-I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) was investigated. The HTLV-I proviral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and BAL fluid from HTLV-I carriers was estimated using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction method and the correlation between the lymphocyte number in BAL fluid and the HTLV-I proviral DNA load in PBMCs and BAL fluid was examined. Results: The percentage of lymphocytes in BAL fluid was increased (\>18\%) in 11 of 30 HTLV-I carriers although there was no significant difference compared with control subjects. In HTLV-I carriers the lymphocyte number in BAL fluid correlated well with the copy number of HTLV-I proviral DNA in PBMCs. In addition, the copy number of HTLV-I proviral DNA in BAL fluid correlated well with the number of lymphocytes (both CD4+ and CD8+ cells) in BAL fluid. Conclusions: These findings suggest that pulmonary lymphocytosis can occur in a subset of HTLV-I carriers without HAM/TSP and that the increased HTLV-I proviral DNA load may be implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary involvement in HTLV-I carriers.}, issn = {0040-6376}, URL = {https://thorax.bmj.com/content/60/2/138}, eprint = {https://thorax.bmj.com/content/60/2/138.full.pdf}, journal = {Thorax} }