When the human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is integrated with the host cell genome (provirus), its proviral DNA is a replication marker. Proviral load appears to be an important factor in the development of diseases related to these retroviruses. In this study, a methodology for absolute quantification of the HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 proviral load using real-time PCR was developed. Fifty-three bl...

A high human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) proviral load is described in HTLV-1-associated diseases, especially HAM/TSP. However, the cut-off value to define high levels of HTLV-1 proviral load is not well established. 281 HTLV-1-infected patients from the HTLV reference center in Salvador, Brazil, were followed from 2005 to 2008. Patients were classified as asymptomatic, possible-,...

Twenty-three human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) seroconverters were identified among 1120 HTLV-I-seronegative adults followed up for 11 years in an area of Japan endemic for HTLV-I. The geometric mean titer of anti-HTLV-I was 1:453 in the first year after seroconversion; the titer of each subject did not change significantly during 2-10 years of follow-up. HTLV-I proviral DNA load was q...

BACKGROUND In vitro studies support that integrase inhibitors, such as raltegravir, may inhibit human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) replication. However, this hypothesis has not been tested in vivo. METHODS HTLV-1-infected individuals were invited to participate in a pilot, open study that examined whether 400 mg of raltegravir twice daily could exhibit any recognizable virologica...

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Salvador (BA, Brazil) is an endemic area for human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The overall prevalence of HTLV-1 infection in the general population has been estimated to be 1.76%. HTLV-1 carriers may develop a variety of diseases such as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and infective dermatitis associated with HT...

The human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) proviral load remains the best surrogate marker for disease progression. Real-time PCR techniques have been developed for detection and quantification of cosmopolitan HTLV type 1a (HTLV-1a) and HTLV-2. Since a growing level of diversity in subtypes and genotypes is observed, we developed a multiplex quantitative PCR for simultaneous detection, genotyping, a...

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is associated with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Only a limited percentage of infected individuals develop disease in response to the virus while the majority remain asymptomatic and HAM/TSP is the most common clinical manifestation of the virus. HAM/TSP is an inflamma...

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) persistently infects humans, and the proviral loads that persist in vivo vary widely among individuals. Elevation in the proviral load is associated with serious HTLV-1-mediated diseases, such as adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. However, it remains controversial whether HTLV-1-specific T-cell immunit...

OBJECTIVE(S) Human T Lymphocyte Virus Type one (HTLV-I) is a retrovirus that infects about 10-20 million people worldwide. Khorasan province in Iran is an endemic area. The majority of HTLV-I-infected individuals sustain healthy carriers but small proportion of infected population developed two progressive diseases: HAM/TSP and ATL. The proviral load could be a virological marker for disease mo...