塵肺症におけるHTLV-Ⅰ感染の検討―悪性腫瘍との関連を含めて―

The pathogenesis of pneumocniosis following exposure to inorganic dust remains obscure. HTLV-Ⅰ, known as a cause of adult T cell leukemia, has been reported to participate in various interstitial lung diseases. So, HTLV-Ⅰ infection in patients with pneumoconiosis was inves-tigated by detecting anti-HTLV-Ⅰ antibodies by the indirect immunofluorescent methoh and the pX gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blotting. Furthermore, various malignancies in pneumoconiosis were also analyzed in relation to HTLV-Ⅰ infection. Three of 24 patients (12.5%) demonstrated anti-HTLV-Ⅰ antibodies. Four of 5 patients includ-ing the 3 patients with antibodies demonstrated the pX gene. Various malignant diseases including myelodyspastic syndrome and lung cancer showed a higher incidence in patients with HTLV-Ⅰ infection than in those without HTLV-Ⅰ infection. These findings indicate that HTLV-Ⅰ infection could play an important role in the path-ogenesis of pneumoconiosis and complications of malignancy.

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