title: HTLV-1 clonality in adult T-cell leukaemia and non-malignant HTLV-1 infection.
abstract: Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) causes a range of chronic inflammatory diseases and an aggressive malignancy of T lymphocytes known as adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATLL). A cardinal feature of HTLV-1 infection is the presence of expanded clones of HTLV-1-infected T cells, which may persist for decades. A high viral burden (proviral load) is associated with both the inflammatory and malignant diseases caused by HTLV-1, and it has been believed that the oligoclonal expansion of infected cells predisposes to these diseases. However, it is not understood what regulates the clonality of HTLV-1 in vivo, that is, the number and abundance of HTLV-1-infected T cell clones. We review recent advances in the understanding of HTLV-1 infection and disease that have come from high-throughput quantification and analysis of HTLV-1 clonality in natural infection.
authors: Section of Immunology, Imperial College, London W2 1PG, UK. Electronic address: c.bangham@imperial.ac.uk.
authors: Charles R M
authors: CR
authors: Bangham
authors: Section of Immunology, Imperial College, London W2 1PG, UK.
authors: Lucy B
authors: LB
authors: Cook
authors: Section of Immunology, Imperial College, London W2 1PG, UK.
authors: Anat
authors: A
authors: Melamed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology*; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D056189:Viral Tropism; D016662:Virus Integration; D014779:Virus Replication
keywords: Clonality; HTLV-1; High-throughput sequencing; Integration; Leukaemia; Lymphoma; Persistent infection; Retrovirus