D'Onofrio C, Bonmassar E
Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, II Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata.
Clin Ter. 1992 Feb;140(2):155-67.
HTLV-I (Human T-cell leukemia virus type I) has been the first human retrovirus identified and then associated with a definite pathological entity, a leukemic syndrome that specifically affects mature T-lymphocytes (ATL, adult T-cell leukemia), expressing CD3+, CD4+, CD8-, CD11- phenotype. This form of leukemia/lymphoma is endemic in southwestern islands of Japan, although at present the number of HTLV-I seropositive individuals has greatly increased, with a worldwide diffusion, following the expansion wave of the AIDS-associated HIV retrovirus. In fact, double seropositivity for both HIV and HTLV is frequently found among intravenous drug users. Although ATL leukemia or lymphoma occurs with a low frequency among HTLV-I seropositive individuals, it is likely that the evolution from a latent phase of infection to acute leukemia could be favoured by depression of immunosurveillance levels in the host. Therefore, special attention is required to prevent the diffusion of this retrovirus in adults, taking into consideration that newborn babies from seropositive mothers have to be considered at high risk for development of HTLV-I associated disease, on the basis of their immature immunocompetence.
人类嗜T淋巴细胞病毒I型（HTLV-I）是首个被鉴定出的人类逆转录病毒，随后被发现与一种明确的病理实体相关，即一种特异性影响成熟T淋巴细胞的白血病综合征（成人T细胞白血病，ATL），其表现为CD3+、CD4+、CD8-、CD11-表型。这种白血病/淋巴瘤在日本西南部岛屿呈地方流行性，尽管目前随着与艾滋病相关的HIV逆转录病毒的传播浪潮在全球范围内扩散，HTLV-I血清阳性个体的数量已大幅增加。事实上，静脉吸毒者中经常发现HIV和HTLV双重血清阳性。尽管在HTLV-I血清阳性个体中ATL白血病或淋巴瘤的发生率较低，但宿主免疫监视水平的降低可能有利于从感染潜伏期向急性白血病的演变。因此，鉴于血清阳性母亲的新生儿由于免疫能力不成熟而被视为发生HTLV-I相关疾病的高危人群，在预防这种逆转录病毒在成年人中的传播时需要给予特别关注。
