Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL), a rare and aggressive T-cell malignancy caused by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), is associated with a poor prognosis. Evidence-based standard treatment options are lacking and outcomes are generally unsatisfactory, particularly for patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Continued research is contributing to changing treatment landsc...

We studied the expression of the interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor and the proliferative response to exogenous IL-2 of peripheral blood leukemic cells from patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL) in order to see whether IL-2 receptor expressed on ATL cells is different from normal IL-2 receptor and whether it plays a role in the neoplastic growth in ATL. Peripheral blood leukemic cells from 42 pa...

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is a lymphoproliferative malignancy associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Recently, it has been shown that allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an effective treatment for ATL, and that HTLV-1 Tax-specific CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells (CTL) contribute to the graft-versus-ATL effect. In the present study, we...

Adult T cell leukemia virus (HTLV or ATLV) proviral DNA integrated in the cellular DNA was examined by a modified Southern blotting method in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and/or lymph node cells from 61 patients with adult T cell leukemia (ATL) and other hematologic diseases. Serum antibodies against ATL-associated antigens (ATLA) were also examined. The presence of human T cell leuke...

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-1) causes adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), a fatal T-cell leukemia resistant to chemotherapy, after more than 50 years of clinical latency from transmission through breast-feeding. Polyclonal expansion of virus-infected T cells predisposes them to transformation. Constitutive activation of nuclear factorB (NFB) in the leukemic cells is essential for their gr...

Chromosome aberrations and clinical features of three patients with adult T cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) not associated with human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) are described. From their clinical features, two patients were diagnosed as acute type and one patient was diagnosed as chronic type, which later converted to acute crisis. Clonal and many chromosomal abnormalities were observed...

H uman T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is a mammalian retrovirus that has a tropism for mature T lymphocytes and an association with rare clinical disorders (1, 2). HTLV-I infection is endemic in a number of geographic regions which include parts of Japan, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. Despite very high rates of infection in endemic areas where as many as 30% of the popula...

Detection methods for the human T-cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I) for blood screening and diagnosis generally rely on antibody tests that use the structural proteins of HTLV-I as antigen. We have found an unusual pattern of antibody reactivity among people who are at high risk of HTLV infection due to being a family member of an adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patient: a specific antibody react...

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is a highly chemoresistant and usually fatal T-cell malignancy due to the human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1). After chemotherapy failure, antiretrovirals and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) produce brief responses followed by progression and death. More effective agents and new approaches to detect and treat minimal residual disease are needed. ATL cells express...

HTLV-1 (Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1) is a complex human delta retrovirus that currently infects 10-20 million people worldwide. While HTLV-1 infection is generally asymptomatic, 3%-5% of infected individuals develop a highly malignant and intractable T-cell neoplasm known as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) decades after infection. How HTLV-1 infection progresses to ATL is not we...