Experimental HTLV-I and associated myelopathy

Abstract

-HTLV-I infection and associated myelopathy has been reproduced experimentally in vitro and in vivo and these studies have shown the possibility of creating several lines of infective cells and of detecting minor and major clinical expressions of HTLV-I associated myelopathy in rabbits and rats.

Motor behavioral abnormalities and histopathological findings of Wistar rats inoculated with HTLV-1-infected MT2 cells

“…Freezing is a state of maintained contracted posture and the decrease of resting/sleeping is possibly a symptom of distress in this pathological condition. These motor abnormalities occurred after 15 months, as also shown by Minagawa et al (3), Ohya (12) and Miyatake et al (13), and with a peak after longer periods, such as 20 months, as shown by our results (2,4,5). The period after 7 months has been pointed out as crucial for molecular events occurring in HAM rats (4,14,15).…”

“…Most models rely on targeted cell line studies and clinical expression of the condition (2). This clinical condition has been studied mostly in rats and rabbits infected with a variety of HTLV-1 strains.…”