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Brief Definitive Report |
Correspondence to: Claudine Pique, CNRS UPR 9051, Hôpital St. Louis, 1 Avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75010 Paris, France. Tel:33-1-53-72-40-95 Fax:33-1-53-72-40-90 E-mail:pique{at}chu-stlouis.fr.
Human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is a persistent virus that causes adult T cell leukemia and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-Iassociated myelopathy. Studies on rabbits have shown that viral proteins encoded by the open reading frames pX-I and pX-II are required for the establishment of the persistent infection. To examine the in vivo production of these proteins in humans, we have investigated whether cytotoxic T lymphocytes isolated from HTLV-Iinfected individuals recognized pX-I and pX-II peptides. CD8+ T lymphocytes to pX-I and pX-II peptides were detected in HTLV-Iinfected individuals, whatever their clinical status, and even in the absence of any antigenic restimulation. These findings indicate that the HTLV-I pX-I and pX-II proteins are chronically synthesized in vivo, and are targets of the natural immune response to the virus.
Key Words:
retrovirus, regulatory proteins, cytotoxic epitopes, HLA-A2, interferon
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