A journey with T cells, primate/human retroviruses and other persisting human T-cell tropic viruses.

Abstract

A study of the growth of primate/human T cells led to mechanisms for temporary laboratory culture of these cells (discovery of interleukin-2) and also their continuous culture (by immortalization after infection with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 or 2 (HTLV-1 or 2)). Cultures of lymphocytes also led us to isolate five persisting T-tropic viruses: 1. the Hall's Island strain of gibbon ape leukemia virus, 2. HTLV-1, 3. HTLV-2, 4. human immunodeficiency virus and 5. human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6). This report is a brief synopsis of the discoveries of the first human retroviruses, the HTLV.