Wiktor S Z, Jacobson S, Weiss S H, Shaw G M, Reuben J S, Shorty V J, McFarlin D E, Blattner W A
Viral Epidemiology Section, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Lancet. 1991 Feb 9;337(8737):327-8. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)90947-n.
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.