Global epidemic of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I)

Manipulation of the nuclear factor-κB pathway and the innate immune response by viruses

“…At present, between 20 and 30 million people worldwide are infected with HTLV-1, a delta retrovirus that is endemic to parts of South America and the Middle East, the Caribbean basin, sub-Saharan and central Africa, southern Japan and southeast Asia (Edlich et al, 2000;Eshima et al, 2003). Infection with HTLV-1 is etiologically associated with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), an aggressive and often fatal malignancy of CD4 þ T cells (Yoshida, 2005) as well as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraperesis (HAM/TSP), a demyelinating syndrome of the central nervous system (Grindstaff and Gruener, 2005).…”

A genomic analysis of adult T-cell leukemia

“…Virally encoded proteins such as Tax trigger polyclonal growth of T cells in infected individuals, and there are an estimated 15-20 million such carriers worldwide (Edlich et al, 2000). After a latency period of decades, a small proportion of carriers (B2%) develop ATL.…”

Repression of IRF-4 target genes in human T cell leukemia virus-1 infection

“…ATL and HAM/TSP are geographically localized to regions of the world where HTLV infection is endemic, notably southern Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean basin and the southwestern United States (Edlich et al, 2000;Tsukasaki et al, 2000;Yoshida, 2001). At present, it is estimated that between 10 and 20 million people worldwide are infected with HTLV.…”

“…Treatments for ATL are ineffective; conventional chemotherapeutic treatments provide at most a 5% 4-year survival rate (Cann and Chen, 1996;Ohshima et al, 1999). Once diagnosed with acute ATL, the median survival time is in the order of a few months (Edlich et al, 2000;Tsukasaki et al, 2000).…”