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55 HTLV-I (human T-cell lymphotropic virus) and 45 HTLV-II carriers, confirmed by HTLV-type specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), were distinguished by western blot assays with recombinant HTLV I or II envelope glycoproteins. Recombinant protein (RP) B1 contains aminoacids 166-201 from HTLV-I exterior glycoprotein gp46 and was reactive with HTLV-I samples only. RP-IIB, which contains aminoacids 96-235 from HTLV-II exterior glycoprotein gp52, was reactive with all HTLV-II samples. 39 patients (86.6%) had high reactivity by densitometry. Of 55 HTLV-I samples, 35 (65.5%) had antibody reactivity to RP-IIB, but only 1 (1.8%) had high reactivity by densitometry. RP B1 and IIB western blot assays may replace the PCR test in diagnosis of HTLV infection.

We measured lymphocyte proliferation in the absence of antigenic stimulation in 45 HTLV-II infected, 9 HTLV-I infected, and 19 HTLV-I seronegative intravenous drug users (IVDU). Lymphocyte proliferation was higher in IVDUs infected with HTLV-II than in seronegative IVDUs but lower than among those infected with HTLV-I. Higher rates of proliferation were also associated with needle sharing, CD4+ and IL2R+ lymphocyte counts, and HTLV-I antibody titres.