# Detection and isolation of type C retrovirus particles from fresh and cultured lymphocytes of a patient with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-poiesz-htlv-retrovirus-cutaneous-t-cell-lymphoma-pnas-1980/  
OnCo record `paper-poiesz-htlv-retrovirus-cutaneous-t-cell-lymphoma-pnas-1980` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The first retrovirus found in people was isolated from the blood cells of a patient with a skin lymphoma, and turned out to cause a leukaemia endemic in southern Japan and the Caribbean.

## Summary

Bernard Poiesz, Robert Gallo and colleagues found retrovirus particles with type C morphology in two T-cell lymphoblastoid cell lines, HUT 102 and CTCL-3, and in fresh peripheral blood lymphocytes from a patient with mycosis fungoides. The cell lines produced the virus continuously, collectively called HTLV.

The characterisation was careful because the claim was large. Mature particles measured 100 to 110 nanometres, banded at a density of 1.16 grams per millilitre on a sucrose gradient, and contained 70S RNA and a DNA polymerase activity typical of a viral reverse transcriptase. That reverse transcriptase preferred magnesium to manganese, unlike the cellular DNA polymerases purified from human lymphocytes, and antibodies to cellular DNA polymerase gamma and to reverse transcriptases from several animal retroviruses did not react with it. Six major proteins of roughly 10,000, 13,000, 19,000, 24,000, 42,000 and 52,000 daltons were found in disrupted particles, a count consistent with a retrovirus but with sizes distinct from the known primate retroviruses.

The following year Hinuma's group in Japan independently detected an antigen in a cell line from a patient with adult T-cell leukaemia and antibodies to it in all 44 patients with that disease. The two lines of work converged on one virus, now called human T-lymphotropic virus type 1.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-10-01
- Also known as: Poiesz 1980; Discovery of HTLV-1; The first human retrovirus
- Tags: lymphoma-evidence
- Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Year: 1980
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.7415
- Authors: Poiesz BJ, Ruscetti FW, Gazdar AF, et al.
- Findings: Type C retrovirus particles were found in two T-cell lines, HUT 102 and CTCL-3, and in fresh peripheral blood lymphocytes from a patient with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.; Mature particles were 100 to 110 nanometres in diameter and banded at a density of 1.16 grams per millilitre on a sucrose gradient.; Particles contained 70S RNA and a reverse transcriptase activity that preferred magnesium to manganese, distinguishing it from cellular DNA polymerases.; Antibodies to cellular DNA polymerase gamma and to reverse transcriptases of several animal retroviruses did not detectably interact with the viral enzyme.; Six major particle-associated proteins of approximately 10,000, 13,000, 19,000, 24,000, 42,000 and 52,000 daltons were identified.
- What it means: The first human retrovirus, and the start of the line of work that identified HIV three years later. For lymphoma it means that adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma has a known, transmissible, preventable cause, and that screening blood donors and advising on breastfeeding in endemic areas are cancer prevention measures.
- Caveats: A single patient and two cell lines; the epidemiological case that the virus causes adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma was made by Hinuma, Takatsuki and others over the following years.; The index patient was described as having mycosis fungoides, a diagnosis that was later questioned; the virus is not a cause of mycosis fungoides.; Only a small minority of people infected with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 ever develop the leukaemia, usually decades after infection.

## Sources

- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1980: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.77.12.7415
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6261256/
- Europe PMC: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/6261256

## Connected records

- key papers: [Adult T-cell leukemia: antigen in an ATL cell line and detection of antibodies to the antigen in human sera](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-hinuma-adult-t-cell-leukaemia-antigen-pnas-1981/), [VCAP-AMP-VECP compared with biweekly CHOP for adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study JCOG9801](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-jcog9801-vcap-amp-vecp-adult-t-cell-leukaemia-jco-2007/)
- roadmaps: [Lymphoma roadmap: from a jaw tumour in Uganda and the first human cancer virus to gene-expression subtypes, PET-adapted chemotherapy, CAR-T cells, bispecific antibodies and the genetics-directed trials now recruiting](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/lymphoma-roadmap/)
- cancers: [Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome)](https://onco.cc/cancers/cutaneous-t-cell-lymphoma/), [Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/), [Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/peripheral-t-cell-lymphoma/)
- fronts: [Diagnostics & Biomarkers](https://onco.cc/fronts/diagnostics/), [Prevention & Risk](https://onco.cc/fronts/prevention/)
- trials: [JCOG9801](https://onco.cc/trials/jcog9801/)
- bottlenecks: [Most of the world has almost no cancer care](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-global-access/), [Prevention we already have is not deployed](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-prevention-adoption/)
- journals: [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences](https://onco.cc/journals/pnas/)

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