Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is the first human retrovirus to be associated with malignant disease-namely, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. HTLV-I has also been associated with several diseases. HTLV-I has a worldwide distribution with major endemic foci in the Caribbean and Southern Japan. HTLV-II is a closely related retrovirus that shares considerable genomic homology with ...

PURPOSE Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) can cause an adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Because ATLL is a life-threatening lymphoproliferative disorder and is resistant to chemotherapy, the establishment and enhancement of T-cell immunity to HTLV-I through the development of therapeutic vaccines could be of value. Thus, the identification of HTLV-I epitopes for both CD8(+) and C...

Treatment with the synthetic retinoid HPR [N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-retinamide] causes growth arrest and apoptosis in HTLV-I (human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I)-positive and HTLV-I-negative malignant T-cells. It was observed that HPR-mediated growth inhibition was associated with ceramide accumulation only in HTLV-I-negative cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism b...

In tropical or subtropical areas such as Southern Japan, the Caribbean, Central and South America, both human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) and Strongyloides stercoralis infection are endemic (4, 8). Several studies have documented an unexpectedly high prevalence of S. stercoralis in HTLV-I carriers and of HTLV-I among S. stercoralis carriers. The links between two such taxonomicall...

The human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is causally associated with adult T-cell leukemia, but its role in mycosis fungoides (MF) has remained enigmatic. The virus is suspect because a small percentage of patients with MF have antibodies to it, the cells of others harbor deleted HTLV-I proviral sequences, and particles resembling HTLV-I emerge in cultured blood lymphocytes obtained ...

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) proviral integration status was examined by Southern blot analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DNA from patients presenting a tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) and serological evidence of HTLV-I infection. Surface phenotype and morphological aspects of PBMC were also studied. A polyclonal HTLV-I proviral integration was found in t...

We report the production and characterization of a human monoclonal antibody reactive against the major envelope glycoprotein of human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I), a virus linked to the etiology of adult T-cell leukemia. We exposed lymph-node cells derived from a patient with adult T-cell leukemia to the Epstein-Barr virus in vitro and obtained a B-cell clone (designated 0.5 alpha) by...

Serum- and/or- cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples obtained from 190 patients suffering from chronic, progressive neurological disease were screened for the presence of human T-cell lymphotropic viruses type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II) antibodies over a six-year period (1996 to 2001) in Belém, Pará, Brazil. Patients were of both sexes (male subjects, 52%) with ages ranging from 2 to 79 years...

BACKGROUND An increased risk of total death owing to human T-lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I) infection has been reported. However, its etiology and protective factors are unclear. Various studies reported fluctuations in immune-inflammatory status among HTLV-I carriers. We conducted a matched cohort study among the general population in an HTLV-I-endemic region of Japan to investigate the in...