title: Molecular mechanisms of HTLV-1 infection and pathogenesis.
abstract: Human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is an etiological pathogen of several human diseases, including adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM)/tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), and inflammatory disorders such as uveitis and dermatitis. HTLV-1 spreads mainly through cell-to-cell transmission, induces clonal proliferation of infected T cells in vivo, and after a long latent period, a subset of HTLV-1 carriers develop ATL. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of infection and oncogenesis is important for the development of new strategies of prophylaxis and molecular-targeted therapies, since ATL has a poor prognosis, despite intensive chemotherapy. In this review, we will summarize recent progress in HTLV-1 research, and especially novel findings on viral transmission and leukemogenic mechanisms by two viral oncogenes, HBZ and tax.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virus Control, Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. jyasunag@virus.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yasunaga
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D016355:Genes, pX; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D012191:Retroviridae Proteins; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins; D019065:Virus Assembly; D016662:Virus Integration
chemical_list: D050976:Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; C418974:FOXP3 protein, human; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C479751:HBZ protein, human T-cell leukemia virus type I; D016328:NF-kappa B; D012191:Retroviridae Proteins; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; D014764:Viral Proteins