Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1985. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
THE FAMILY OF HUMAN T-CELL TROPIC RETROVIRUSES CALLED HTLV AND ITS ROLE IN ADULT T-CELL LEUKEMIA
UT MD Anderson Clin Conf Cancer; 27:171-9 1984. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/85608657 Wong-Staal F; Gallo RC; Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute,; Bethesda, MD 20205
Abstract:
The discovery of T-cell growth factor (TCGF) made it possible to grow both normal and neoplastic mature human T cells in long-term suspension culture. T cells from normal donors can be grown only after stimulation by lectin or antigen; in contrast, certain neoplastic mature T cells respond to TCGF without prior activation by lectin or antigen. It was from some of these cultured neoplastic T-cell lines that the first unambiguous human retrovirus, human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), was isolated. Most isolates were found to belong to a strain called HTLV-I; most HTLV-I-positive lymphomas and leukemias fell into a particular syndrome, which is described. Another isolate (HTLV-II), distantly related to HTLV-I, was later derived. Recent molecular biological studies on the HTLV showed that members of subgroup I are highly conserved, if not identical, isolates that are obtainable worldwide, while subgroup II consists, so far, of only two isolates. HTLV-I infection is closely associated with adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma, but the disease spectrum of HTLV-II has not yet been defined. HTLV does not carry an onc gene, and it causes tumors that are clonally derived; it falls, therefore, into the class of chronic leukemia viruses. However, it is the only known chronic leukemia virus that can efficiently immortalize fresh human cells in vitro. It is believed that in vitro immortalization represents a first stage of neoplastic transformation, while the circulating leukemic cells represent a later stage. It was found that viral expression may be necessary for initiation but not for maintenance of transformation.
Keywords: Cell Line Cloning, Molecular Gene Expression Regulation Human HTLV-BLV Viruses/GENETICS/PATHOGENICITY Interleukin-2/GENETICS Leukemia/GENETICS/*MICROBIOLOGY Lymphoma/MICROBIOLOGY Oncogenes Retroviridae Infections/GENETICS/*MICROBIOLOGY *T-Lymphocytes Transcription, Genetic GOVERNMENT REPORT
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1985. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
