HTLV-I
| Human T-lymphotropic virus | |
|---|---|
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| HTLV-1 and HIV | |
| Virus classification | |
| Group: | Group VI (ssRNA-RT) |
| Family: | Retroviridae' |
| Subfamily: | Orthoretrovirinae |
| Genus: | Deltaretrovirus |
| Species: | Simian T-lymphotropic virus |
| Serotypes | |
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Human T-lymphotropic virus |
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Human T-lymphotropic virus
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 or human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I), also called the adult T-cell lymphoma virus type 1, is a retrovirus of the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) family that has been implicated in several kinds of diseases including very aggressive adult T-cell lymphoma (ATL), HTLV-I-associated myelopathy, uveitis, Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-infection and some other diseases. However, only about 1–5% of infected persons are thought to develop cancer as a result of the infection with HTLV-I over their lifetimes.
Adult T-cell lymphoma (ATL) was discovered in 1977 in Japan. The symptom of ATL is totally different from other lymphoma that were known at that time. It was suggested that ATL is caused by the infection of a retrovirus called ATLV. Strikingly, ATLV had the transforming activity in vitro. These studies established that the retrovirus infection is the cause of ATL. The retrovirus is now generally called HTLV-I because later studies proved that ATLV is the same as the firstly identified human retrovirus called HTLV discovered by Bernard Poiesz and Francis Ruscetti and their co-workers in the laboratory of Robert C. Gallo at the National Cancer Institute. Infection with HTLV-I, like infection with other retroviruses, probably occurs for life. A patient infected with HTLV can be diagnosed when antibodies against HTLV-1 are detected in the serum.
HTLV-1 is a retrovirus belonging to the family retroviridae and the genus deltaretrovirus. It has a positive-sense RNA genome that is reverse transcribed into DNA and then integrated into the cellular DNA. Once integrated, HTLV-1 continues to exist only as a provirus which can spread from cell to cell through a viral synapse. Few, if any, free virions are produced and there is usually no detectable virus in the blood plasma though the virus is present in genital secretions. Like HIV, HTLV-1 predominately infects CD4+ T cells.
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