HTLV-1病毒蛋白Tax和HBZ协同促进成人T细胞白血病发生的机制

人类T细胞白血病1型病毒(Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1,HTLV-1)是与人类疾病发生密切相关的逆转录病毒。该病毒的感染可引起成人T细胞白血病(Adult T-cell leukemia,ATL)等多种疾病的发生。Tax和HBZ(HTLV-1 basic zipper protein)是由HTLV-1前病毒编码的两个关键病毒蛋白,它们被认为在HTLV-1病毒的复制、生存和致癌过程中发挥了至关重要的作用。本文就Tax和HBZ的蛋白结构以及它们在调控病毒转录、细胞生长和凋亡、病毒潜伏期,最终协同促进成人T细胞白血病发生过程中发挥的作用作一综述。     

Interferon-γ Promotes Inflammation and Development of T-Cell Lymphoma in HTLV-1 bZIP Factor Transgenic Mice

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is an etiological agent of several inflammatory diseases and a T-cell malignancy, adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). HTLV-1 bZIP factor (HBZ) is the only viral gene that is constitutively expressed in HTLV-1-infected cells, and it has multiple functions on T-cell signaling pathways. HBZ has important roles in HTLV-1-mediated pathogenesis, since HBZ transgenic (HBZ-Tg) mice develop systemic inflammation and T-cell lymphomas, which are similar phenotypes to HTLV-1-associated diseases. We showed previously that in HBZ-Tg mice, HBZ causes unstable Foxp3 expression, leading to an increase in regulatory T cells (Tregs) and the consequent induction of IFN-γ-producing cells, which in turn leads to the development of inflammation in the mice. In this study, we show that the severity of inflammation is correlated with the development of lymphomas in HBZ-Tg mice, suggesting that HBZ-mediated inflammation is closely linked to oncogenesis in CD4⁺ T cells. In addition, we found that IFN-γ-producing cells enhance HBZ-mediated inflammation, since knocking out IFN-γ significantly reduced the incidence of dermatitis as well as lymphoma. Recent studies show the critical roles of the intestinal microbiota in the development of Tregs in vivo. We found that even germ-free HBZ-Tg mice still had an increased number of Tregs and IFN-γ-producing cells, and developed dermatitis, indicating that an intrinsic activity of HBZ evokes aberrant T-cell differentiation and consequently causes inflammation. These results show that immunomodulation by HBZ is implicated in both inflammation and oncogenesis, and suggest a causal connection between HTLV-1-associated inflammation and ATL.