The human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1): new insights into the clinical aspects and molecular pathogenesis of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM).
Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was the first human retrovirus to be identified in the early 1980s. The isolation and identification of a related virus, HTLV-2, and the distantly related human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immediately followed. Of the three retroviruses, two are associated definitively with specific diseases, HIV, with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HTLV-1, with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). While an estimated 10-20 million people worldwide are infected with HTLV-I, infection is endemic in the Caribbean, parts of Africa, southwestern Japan, and Italy. Approximately 4% of HTLV-I infected individuals develop ATLL, a disease with a poor prognosis. The clinical manifestations of infection and the current biology of HTLV viruses with emphasis on HTLV-1 are discussed in detail. The implications for improvements in diagnosis, treatment, intervention, and vaccination are included, as well as a discussion of the emergence of HTLV-1 and -2 as copathogens among HIV-1-infected individuals.
Shuh
Maureen
M
Department of Biological Sciences, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA. mshuh@loyno.edu
Beilke
Mark
M
D000328:Adult; D006800:Deltaretrovirus Infections / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*