Somatic Mutation in Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Provirus and Flanking Cellular Sequences During Clonal Expansion In Vivo

Abstract

These data indicate that, in vivo, HTLV-1 variation results mainly from postintegration events that consist of somatic mutations of the proviral sequence occurring during clonal expansion. The finding of substitutions in flanking sequences suggests that somatic mutations occurring after integration, presumably coupled with selection, help move the cellular clones toward a transformed phenotype, of which adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma is the end point.