Human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent for …

• Abstract
• HTLV-1 and adult T cell leukemia
• Restricting a preleukemic phenotype to CD4+ T cells
• The role of HTLV-1 Tax protein in the development of ATLL
• What's Next
• Footnotes
• References

Biology Articles » Medicine » Pathobiology » Adult T cell leukemia: a tale of two T cells » What's Next

What's Next

- Adult T cell leukemia: a tale of two T cells

Obviously the involvement of CD4+ cells in the development of ATLL is indisputable, and uncovering the underlying molecular events in this cell type will have a profound impact on our understanding of this disease. However, the role of HTLV-1–infected CD8+ T cells in disease development is less clear. Is it possible that the infection and expansion of CD8+ cells plays a helper role in the selection of specific CD4+ cell clones? In fact, what is the dynamic relationship between the two cell populations over the course of disease development? Is there a patient-specific variation in the ratios of the infected cell types that might explain why one patient may develop ATLL and another individual develops HAM/TSP? It is predictable that future work will seek to uncover the dynamics of multiple virus-infected cell populations and what impact these forces have on the selection and manifestation of HTLV-1–related diseases.