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Human spumavirus antibodies in sera from African patients

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Summary

Serum samples collected from patients with a wide variety of diseases from African and other countries were tested for antibodies to the human spumaretrovirus (HSRV). A spumaviralenv-specific ELISA was employed as screening test. Out of 3020 human sera screened, 106 were found to be positive (3.2%). While the majority of patients' sera from Europe (1581) were negative, 26 were positive (1.6%). Sera from healthy adult blood donors (609), from patients with multiple sclerosis (48), Graves' disease (45), and chronic fatigue syndrome (41) were negative or showed a very low prevalence for spumaviralenv antibodies. A higher percentage of seropositives (6.3%) were found among 1338 African patients from Tanzania, Kenya, and Gabon. Out of 1180 patients from Tanzania, 708 suffered from tumors, 75 from AIDS, and 128 had gynecological problems; 51 of the Tanzanian patients were HSRV seropositive (4.3%). A particularly high percentage of 16.6% seropositives were identified among nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients (NPC) from Kenya and Tanzania consistent with results reported 10 years ago. However, 20 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients from Malaysia were HSRV-seronegative. In selected cases, sera from seropositive individuals were reacted with proteins from HSRV-infected cells in vitro. HSRVenv-andgag-specific antibodies were specifically detected by these sera in Western blots.

The results indicate spumavirus infections in human patients with various diseases at a relatively low prevalence worldwide; in African patients, however, the prevalence of spumavirus infections is markedly higher.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Projektgruppe Humane Retroviren, Angewandte Tumorvirologie, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany

    C. Mahnke, J. Rössler, H. Bannert, M. Löchelt & R. M. Flügel

  2. Tanzania Tumourcenter, Ocean Road Hospital, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

    P. Kashaiya & J. Luande

  3. RTI Unit, Clinical Research Centre, Medical Research Council, Harrow, UK

    A. Levin

  4. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    W. A. Blattner

  5. Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin, Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    M. Dietrich

  6. New York Medical Center, New York, New York, USA

    A. E. Friedman-Kien

  7. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Havard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    A. L. Komaroff

  8. University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    P. C. Loh

  9. Neurologie der Universität Ulm im RKU, Ulm, Federal Republic of Germany

    M. -E. Westarp

Authors
  1. C. Mahnke
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  2. P. Kashaiya
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  3. J. Rössler
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  4. H. Bannert
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  5. A. Levin
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  6. W. A. Blattner
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  7. M. Dietrich
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  8. J. Luande
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  9. M. Löchelt
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  10. A. E. Friedman-Kien
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  11. A. L. Komaroff
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  12. P. C. Loh
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  13. M. -E. Westarp
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  14. R. M. Flügel
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Mahnke, C., Kashaiya, P., Rössler, J. et al. Human spumavirus antibodies in sera from African patients. Archives of Virology 123, 243–253 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01317261

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01317261

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