title: High activated and memory cytotoxic T-cell responses to HTLV-1 in healthy carriers and patients with tropical spastic paraparesis.
abstract: The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response to HTLV-1 is directed mainly against the Tax protein. Circulating, activated Tax-specific CTL can be found in a majority of healthy carriers and patients with the HTLV-1-associated disease tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). In this study we present data on the Tax-specific CTL response of 26 HTLV-1 carriers, including 10 newly recruited subjects. Rex-specific CTL were not found in any subjects investigated. Activated and memory CTL responses were determined separately in 4 healthy carriers, 3 HAM/TSP patients, and 1 "seronegative HAM/TSP." In all subjects, the mean frequency of peptide-specific memory cells per epitope (1/1307) was high. There was no significant difference in mean memory CTL frequency per epitope or in the proportion of subjects with activated CTL between healthy carriers and HAM/TSP patients. One individual with HAM/TSP had an unusually high frequency response to two peptides, suggesting immunodominance of epitope recognition in this individual. We conclude that the magnitude and components of the HLTV-1-specific CTL response do not differ between healthy carriers and HAM/TSP patients. These data do not support a specific CTL-mediated component in the pathogenesis of HAM/TSP.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Science Division, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daenke
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kermode
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nightingale
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Bangham
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002353:Carrier State / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D016370:Gene Products, rex / Q000276:immunology; D016356:Gene Products, tax / Q000276:immunology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D016370:Gene Products, rex; D016356:Gene Products, tax