The intermediate state of HTLV-1 infection, often found in individuals dually infected with Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis) and HTLV-1, is assumed to be a preleukemic state of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). To investigate the e ects of S. stercoralis superinfection on the natural history of HTLV-1 infection, we characterized peripheral blood samples of these individuals in Okinawa, Japan, an endemic area for both HTLV-1 and S. stercoralis and we studied e ects of the parasite antigen on T-cells. The dually infected individuals showed a signi®cantly higher provirus load and an increase in CD4 + 25 + T cell population, with a signi®cant, positive correlation. This increase was attributable to polyclonal expansion of HTLV-1-infected cells, as demonstrated by inverse-long PCR analysis of the integration sites. S. stercoralis antigen activated the IL-2 promoter in reporter gene assays, induced production of IL-2 by PBMC in vitro, and supported growth of IL-2 dependent cell lines immortalized by HTLV-1 infection or the transduction of Tax. Taken collectively, these results indicate that S. stercoralis infection induces polyclonal expansion of HTLV-1-infected cells by activating the IL-2/IL-2R system in dually infected carriers, an event which may be a precipitating factor for ATL and in¯ammatory diseases.
Engorged larvae of Leptotrombidium pallidum Nagayo, Miyagawa, Mitamura & Tamiya, the vector mite of scrub typhus in Japan, were reared by feeding them with fresh eggs of the collembolan Sinella curviseta Brook while confined in small plastic containers under natural conditions in a copse. The larvae were collected from wild rodents (Apodemus speciosus) in autumn 1985 and spring 1986. Adults were kept alive for 2 yr or longer. The larvae obtained in autumn became dormant in the cold winter season, and growth recommenced in the spring. Thus, the development of mites collected in April became synchronized with that of larvae obtained in the autumn. Most larvae developed into protonymphs in May, deutonymphs in June, tritonymphs in July, and adults in August. The females laid eggs in two consecutive summers. Some larvae collected in autumn were kept in a refrigerator until the following summer. They developed into deutonymphs, tritonymphs, or adults and then became dormant in the winter. Development restarted the next spring and all became adult by summer, when the females laid eggs. Under experimental conditions, all larvae are hatched in the autumn, unlike the natural situation in which two peaks of larval occurrence on wild rodents are observed in autumn and spring.
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