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

Abstract

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. Copyright © 1993 American Cancer Society