Abstract
A small population of human T-cell leukemia virus Type I (HTLV-I) carriers develop adult T-cell leukemia after a long incubation period. The results of a series of experiments using animal models suggest that insufficiency of HTLV-I-specific T-cell response induced by vertical HTLV-I infection allows enlargement of the HTLV-I-infected cell reservoir in vivo, a crucial risk factor of adult T-cell leukemia. In this review it is proposed that prophylactic Tax-targeted vaccines for the high-risk group of adult T-cell leukemia, which is characterized by low HTLV-I-specific T-cell response and high proviral load, can reduce the risk. Immunological studies on adult T-cell leukemia patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation also suggest that Tax-targeted immunotherapy may be effective against full-blown disease, although its indication may be limited.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 369-376 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2004 Jun |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adult T-cell leukemia
- Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
- Human T-cell leukemia virus Type I
- T-cell response
- Tax
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Pharmacology (medical)