Fig. 5

Detection of exosomes containing HTLV-1 Tax in CSF of HAM/TSP patients. a Cell-free CSF samples from 8 HAM/TSP patients and 2 MS patients were nanotrapped (NT80 + 82) and analyzed by ELISA for CD81 signal to determine levels of isolated exosomes. b Four HAM/TSP (HAM) and 5 multiple sclerosis (MS) patient CSF samples were nanotrapped (NT80 + 82), followed by Western blot analysis for Tax and Actin. C8166 whole cell extract (C81 WCE, lane 1) was added as a positive control. Tax normalized to Actin (β-actin) signal in the upper Western blot panel was quantified and is shown in the upper right inset. c Twelve HAM/TSP CSF samples were incubated with NT80 + 82 particles, followed by Western blot analysis for Tax and Actin levels. d Presence of HTLV-1 virus was assessed by analysis for the provirus. Pelleted cells and corresponding cell-free supernatants from HAM/TSP CSF samples were probed for HTLV-1 Tax by digital droplet PCR (ddPCR)