HTLV-1 integration into transcriptionally active genomic regions is associated with proviral expression and with HAM/TSP.

ABSTRACT: Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) causes leukaemia or chronic inflammatory disease in approximately 5% of infected hosts. The level of proviral expression of HTLV-1 differs significantly among infected people, even at the same proviral load (proportion of infected mononuclear cells in the circulation). A high level of expression of the HTLV-1 provirus is associated with a high proviral load and a high risk of the inflammatory disease of the central nervous system known as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). But the factors that control the rate of HTLV-1 proviral expression remain unknown. Here we show that proviral integration sites of HTLV-1 in vivo are not randomly distributed within the human genome but are associated with transcriptionally act

SUBMITTER: Meekings KN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2265437 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature