HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 share broad similarities in their overall genetic organization and expression pattern, but they differ substantially in their pathogenic properties. This review outlines distinctive features of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 that might provide clues to explain their distinct clinical outcomes. Differences in the kinetics of viral mRNA expression, functional properties of the regulatory and...

Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy (HAM) is a chronic progressive myelopathy that is characterized by spastic paraparesis with bladder dysfunction that is derived from bilateral pyramidal tract involvement and neurogenic bladder, respectively. The primary neuropathological feature of HAM is chronic inflammation in the spinal cord, mainly the lower thoracic cord, wh...

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is found in indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands and the Americas, whereas type 2 (HTLV-2) is widely distributed among the indigenous peoples of the Americas, where it appears to be more prevalent than HTLV-1, and in some tribes of Central Africa. HTLV-2 is considered ancestral in the Americas and is transmitted to the general population and injec...

SIR—Casseb [1] hypothesizes that human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is “more clever” than human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). One of his reasons is that HTLV-I, unlike HIV-1, has “an exceptionally low capability for causing death in the host.” “Cleverness” is not a biological concept but rather an anthropomorphism. Casseb probably is referring to the biological success of ...

Crusted scabies, formerly known as Norwegian scabies is uncommon presentation of that may occur in the association with an immunosuppressive status. The article aims to present a case report which male patient HTLV-1 carrier status admitted for investigation eczematous and crusted chronic skin lesions submitted dermatologic evaluation biopsy considering hypothesis cutaneous form lymphoma associ...

Two cases of squamous carcinoma of the anus in white homosexual men aged 36 and 47 years are reported, each with a short history of rapidly enlarging perianal lesions. Immunological studies showed that both men had pronounced T helper lymphocyte depletion, and antibody to human T cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) was detected in both patients. In addition one patient had a long histor...

Reported at the beginning of the 1980s, Human T lymphotropic viruses type 1 and 2 (HTLV1, HTLV 2) were the first retroviruses to have been detected in human beings. HTLV 1 was isolated from adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and first described by Takatsuki et al. in Japan in 1976, as a malignancy that only affects T cells and only in adults (1, 2). Albeit infrequent, HTLV-1 infection may lead to seve...

    The study of tumor viruses paves the way for understanding the mechanisms of virus pathogenesis, including those involved in establishing infection and dissemination in the host tumor affecting immune-compromised patients. The processes ranging from viral infection to progressing malignancy are slow and usually insufficient for establishment of transformed cells that develop cancer in only ...