RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Nerurkar, Vivek R. A1 Miller, Mark A. A1 Leon-Monzon, Marta E. A1 Ajdukiewicz, Andrew B. A1 Jenkins, Carol L. A1 Sanders, Raymond C. A1 Godec, Mark S. A1 Garruto, Ralph M. A1 Yanagihara, RichardYR 1992 T1 Failure to isolate human T cell lymphotropic virus type I and to detect variant-specific genomic sequences by polymerase chain reaction in Melanesians with indeterminate Western immunoblot JF Journal of General Virology, VO 73 IS 7 SP 1805 OP 1810 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-73-7-1805 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB The controversy over the endemicity of human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in Melanesia has been settled recently by the isolation of genetically distinct, highly divergent sequence variants of HTLV-I from unrelated inhabitants of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Still at issue, however, is the significance of the high frequency of indeterminate HTLV-I Western blots (defined as reactivity to only gag-encoded proteins) among Melanesians. To investigate whether this indeterminate seroreactivity reflects specific reactivity to the Melanesian HTLV-I variants, 27 seroindeterminate Melanesians from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands were studied for evidence of HTLV-I infection. Although antibodies against Melanesian variant-specific env gene products and variant-specific env gene sequences were detected by Western blot analysis and polymerase chain reaction, respectively, in all 11 HTLV-I Western blot-positive Melanesians, none of the 27 seroindeterminate Melanesians had such variant-specific antibodies or HTLV-I proviral sequences. In addition, attempts to isolate HTLV-I from seroindeterminate individuals were unsuccessful. These data indicate that HTLV-I infection is not the cause of the indeterminate Western blot reactivity seen in Melanesia., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-73-7-1805