Binding of adult T-cell leukemia virus to various hematopoietic cells.

A newly found human retrovirus, adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV) was shown by means of membrane immunofluorescence to bind to various hematopoietic cells including T-, B- and non-T, non-B-cell lines. Partially purified viral gp46 from culture fluids of ATL virus producer lines also bound efficiently to an ATLV-negative T-cell line, CCRF-CEM cells. When the viruses were pre-incubated with anti-ATLV-positive human sera, ATLV binding to the cells was clearly inhibited but not by pre-incubation with anti-ATLV-negative sera. These data suggest that: (1) ATLV binds not only to T-cells but also to multiple types of cells of hematopoietic origin; (2) anti-ATLV antibody-positive human sera have the blocking antibody for the binding of ATLV to lymphoid cells.