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Increased Expression of Human T Lymphocyte Virus Type I (HTLV-I) Tax11-19 Peptide–Human Histocompatibility Leukocyte Antigen A*201 Complexes on CD4+ CD25+ T Cells Detected by Peptide-specific, Major Histocompatibility Complex–restricted Antibodies in Patients with HTLV-I–associated Neurologic Disease
2 Faculty of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
3 Department of Pathology/Pathophysiology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan
4 Viral Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20852
Address correspondence to Steven Jacobson, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, Neuroimmunology Branch, Building 10, Room 5B-16, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-0519; Fax: (301) 402-0373; email: jacobsons{at}ninds.nih.gov
Human T lymphocyte virus type I (HTLV-I)–associated chronic inflammatory neurological disease (HTLV-I–associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis [HAM/TSP]) is suggested to be an immunopathologically mediated disorder characterized by large numbers of HTLV-I Tax–specific CD8+ T cells. The frequency of these cells in the peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid is proportional to the amount of HTLV-I proviral load and the levels of HTLV-I tax mRNA expression. As the stimulus for these virus-specific T cells are immunodominant peptide–human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) complexes expressed on antigen-presenting cells, it was of interest to determine which cells express these complexes and at what frequency. However, until now, it has not been possible to identify and/or quantify these peptide–HLA complexes. Using a recently developed antibody that specifically recognizes Tax11-19 peptide–HLA-A*201 complexes, the level of Tax11-19–HLA-A*201 expression on T cells was demonstrated to be increased in HAM/TSP and correlated with HTLV-I proviral DNA load, HTLV-I tax mRNA load, and HTLV-I Tax–specific CD8+ T cell frequencies. Furthermore, CD4+ CD25+ T cells were demonstrated to be the major reservoir of HTLV-I provirus as well as Tax11-19 peptide–HLA-A*201 complexes. These results indicate that the increased detection and visualization of peptide–HLA complexes in HAM/TSP CD4+ CD25+ T cell subsets that are shown to stimulate and expand HTLV-I Tax–specific CD8+ T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HTLV-I–associated neurological disease.
Key Words: HAM/TSP • IL-2R
chain • regulatory T cell • tetramer • quantitative PCR
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