Circulating CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for HTLV-I pX in patients with HTLV-I associated neurological disease.
The human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), the first human retrovirus to be characterized, is associated with adult T-cell leukaemia and a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system termed tropical spastic paraparesis, or HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. Only 1% of individuals infected with HTLV-I develop clinical disease however. The various manifestations of an HTLV-I infection may be related to differences in the genetic backgrounds of individuals, infection with variant strains of HTLV-I, differences in viral tropism or host immune response to the virus. Whereas the humoral response to HTLV-I is well characterized, little is known about the human cellular immune response, such as the production of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Here we report the presence of high levels of circulating HTLV-I-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in patients with HTLV-I associated neurological disease but not in HTLV-I seropositive individuals without neurological involvement. These cytotoxic T lymphocytes are CD8+, HLA class I- restricted and predominantly recognize the HTLV-I gene products encoded in the regulatory region pX. These findings suggest that HTLV-I-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes may contribute to the pathogenesis of associated neurological disorders associated with HTLV-I.
Jacobson
S
S
Neuroimmunology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
Shida
H
H
McFarlin
D E
DE
Fauci
A S
AS
Koenig
S
S
D000328:Adult; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016370:Gene Products, rex / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016356:Gene Products, tax / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000276:immunology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D014162:Transfection; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000235:genetics
D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D015686:Gene Products, env; D016370:Gene Products, rex; D016356:Gene Products, tax