Immunogenetics and the Pathological Mechanisms of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1- (HTLV-1-)Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP)
Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a replication-competent human retrovirus associated with two distinct types of disease only in a minority of infected individuals: the malignancy known as adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and a chronic inflammatory central nervous system disease HTLV-1-assoc...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2010-01-01
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| Series: | Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/478461 |
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| Summary: | Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a replication-competent human retrovirus associated with two distinct types of disease only in a minority of infected individuals: the malignancy known as adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and a chronic inflammatory central nervous system disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Although the factors that cause these different manifestations of HTLV-1 infection are not fully understood, accumulating evidence suggests that complex virus-host interactions play an important role in determining the risk of HAM/TSP. This review focuses on the role of the immune response in controlling or limiting viral persistence in HAM/TSP patients, and the reason why some HTLV-1-infected people develop HAM/TSP whereas the majority remains asymptomatic carriers of the virus. |
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| ISSN: | 1687-708X 1687-7098 |