Percentage of Tax-expressing cells and proviral load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from 2 asymptomatic carriers (AC) of the virus and 4 patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)
| Time (hour) . | AC . | HAM/TSP . | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HT . | HAN . | TW . | TAU . | TAL . | TBA . | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | ND | ND | ND | 1.7 | ND | ND |
| 12 | 0.6 | ND | 2.4 | 0.6 | ND | 2.5 |
| 24 | 0.2 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 4.7 | 1.5 |
| 48 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 0.6 | ND | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Proviral load | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Time (hour) . | AC . | HAM/TSP . | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HT . | HAN . | TW . | TAU . | TAL . | TBA . | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | ND | ND | ND | 1.7 | ND | ND |
| 12 | 0.6 | ND | 2.4 | 0.6 | ND | 2.5 |
| 24 | 0.2 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 4.7 | 1.5 |
| 48 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 0.6 | ND | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Proviral load | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
PBMCs were cultivated for the length of time shown, harvested, and then processed to detect concomitantly Tax and CD4 antigens. The proviral load was determined in freshly isolated PBMCs. HTLV-I = human T-cell leukemia virus type I; ND = not determined; proviral load = median number of HTLV-I proviral copies per 100 PBMCs.