In situ polymerase chain reaction detection of HTLV-I provirus and expression of the p53 tumor suppressor gene in infiltrating cells in skeletal muscle from a patient with adult T cell leukemia.

We report the pathological changes in skeletal muscle from a patient with acute adult T cell leukemia (ATL). HTLV-I provirus was detected in infiltrating cells using in situ polymerase chain reaction in frozen sections. Furthermore, aberrant expression of the p53 protein was observed in the infiltrating cells. As p53 protein was not observed in mononuclear inflammatory cells in patients with polymyositis, expression of the p53 protein was considered to be one of the characteristic findings in ATL cells. This is the first direct detection of ATL cells in skeletal muscle.