Anti-HTLV-1 tax antibody and tax-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte are associated with a reduction in HTLV-1 proviral load in asymptomatic carriers

✍ Scribed by Masaki Akimoto; Tomohiro Kozako; Takashi Sawada; Kakushi Matsushita; Atsuo Ozaki; Heiichiro Hamada; Hideaki Kawada; Makoto Yoshimitsu; Masahito Tokunaga; Koichi Haraguchi; Kimiharu Uozumi; Naomichi Arima; Chuwa Tei

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 164 KB
• Volume: 79
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.20807

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that higher anti‐human T‐lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV‐1) antibody titer and lower anti‐HTLV‐1 Tax antibody reactivity are risk factors for adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma. In the present study, we analyzed the relationships between these factors and clarified their significance. Forty‐five carriers were examined for anti‐HTLV‐1 and anti‐Tax antibody by ELISA. In addition, 43 of the 45 carriers with HLA‐A*0201 and/or A*2402 were examined for frequency of Tax‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) using HTLV‐1/HLA tetramers, and 44 were examined for proviral load by real‐time PCR. The relationships between these factors were analyzed statistically. The frequencies of Tax11‐19 and Tax301‐309‐specific CTLs were significantly higher in the anti‐Tax antibody‐positive group as compared with the antibody‐negative group (P = 0.002 and 0.033, respectively). Anti‐HTLV‐1 antibody titer had a positive correlation with proviral load (P = 0.019), whereas anti‐Tax antibody did not show a significant correlation. Higher frequencies of both Tax11‐19 and Tax301‐309‐specific CTLs are related to a reduction in proviral load (P = 0.017 and 0.015, respectively). Synergistic interactions of humoral and cellular immunity against Tax protein were demonstrated in HTLV‐1 carriers. Tax‐specific CTL may reduce HTLV‐1 proviral load to prevent asymptomatic carriers from developing adult T‐cell leukemia/lymphoma. J. Med. Virol. 79:977‐986, 2007. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.