Abstract
It is estimated that about 10–20 million peoples are infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) around the world and suffered from HTLV-related diseases. The present study was aimed to evaluate the cellular immunity, T-cell activation, humoral immunity, and inflammatory response hallmarks which affect HTLV-1-associated disease progression. A total of 78 participants were included in the study, comprising 39 HTLV-1 asymptomatic careers (ACs) and 39 healthy controls. The HTLV-proviral load (PVL) was determined via real-time PCR technique, and anti-HTLV antibody, sIL2R, sCD30, Neoptrin, hs-CRP, IgE, anti-VCA, anti-EBNA, and anti-EA were assessed by ELISA method. Mean PVL in ACs was 352.7 ± 418.7 copies/104 PBMCs. A significant higher level of sIL-2R was observed in ACs (P < 0.0001). Anti-VCA antibody titer in ACs and healthy controls was 80.72 ± 105.95 and 156.05 ± 130.71, respectively (P = 0.007). Intriguingly, suppression in ACs immune response was not observed. Resultantly, HTLV-1 infection has no effect on the humoral immune response in ACs but greater T-cell activation and function cellular responses were detected. Finally, more studies on various immune markers in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) patients are greatly needed to illuminate the association of ACs’ immune status with the development of the related diseases.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (H. Rafatpanah) upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- HTLV-1:
-
human T-cell leukemia virus type 1
- PVL:
-
proviral load
- ACs:
-
asymptomatic careers
- ATLL:
-
adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma
- HAM/TSP:
-
HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis
- PBMCs:
-
peripheral blood mononuclear cells
- sIL-2R:
-
soluble IL-2 receptor
- sCD30:
-
soluble CD30
- anti-EBV:
-
anti-Epstein-Barr virus
- anti-VCA:
-
anti-EBV-viral capsid antigen
- anti-EBNA-1:
-
anti-EBV nuclear antigen 1
- anti-EA:
-
anti-EBV early-antigen
- hs-CRP:
-
high-sensitivity C-reactive protein
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Funding
This study was financially supported by Vice–Chancellor for Research and Technology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, under Grant MUMS 910503 and Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Razavi Khorasan, Mashhad, Iran, under Grant ACECR 1972.11.
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Doing experiments: FM, MM, and NJV. Manuscript drafting: MN, AM, and HR. Research advisors preparing experimental facilities and Kits: SAR and HRB. Research director, conception and design of the study, data analysis: MRH and HR. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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This study was reviewed and approved by the Bioethics Research Committee, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (IR.MUMS.REC.910503). Informed consent forms were obtained and signed by all participants for participation in the study.
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Hedayati-Moghaddam, M.R., Mollahosseini, F., Namazi, M.J. et al. Status of humoral and cellular immune markers in human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) asymptomatic carriers in northeastern Iran, Mashhad. J. Neurovirol. 26, 863–869 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-020-00910-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13365-020-00910-8