Bahavar Atefeh, Moradi Abdolvahab, Mohammadi Hamed, Norouzi Mehdi, Khodayar Sara, Mozhgani Sayed-Hamidreza, Tabarraei Alijan
Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Infectious Diseases Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Int J Mol Cell Med. 2025;14(1):472-482. doi: 10.22088/IJMCM.BUMS.14.1.472.
For almost 40 years, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) has posed a persistent challenge in managing the major diseases associated with HTLV-1. Intracellular inhibitors are critical regulators of T cell activation, and their function can be influenced by viruses. Because of less studied aspects of HTLV-1 in T cell activation, we evaluated three suppressor genes in patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and asymptomatic carriers (ACs). Thirty samples were collected from three groups from 10/09/2022 to 03/27/2024. To confirm all the samples, ELISA and PCR tests were done. The isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), RNA extraction, and cDNA synthesis were conducted. Subsequently, the expression of and two E3 ligases, including and was measured via Real-time PCR. This survey showed a significant increase in ITCH among individuals with HAM/TSP and ACs compared to the healthy group. The mRNA expression level was upregulated in the ACs; in contrast, the expression levels were approximately similar in the HAM/TSP and healthy groups. Also, the mean expression level of was higher in the ACs than in the other groups; however, it was not statistically significant. Our findings demonstrated that the intercellular suppressor genes could be dysregulated during the HTLV-1 infection, probably as part of the virus's strategic goals. The findings can be helpful for future investigation in the diagnosis and treatment area.
近40年来，1型人类嗜T淋巴细胞病毒（HTLV-1）在管理与HTLV-1相关的主要疾病方面一直构成持续挑战。细胞内抑制剂是T细胞活化的关键调节因子，其功能可受病毒影响。由于HTLV-1在T细胞活化方面的研究较少，我们评估了HTLV-1相关脊髓病/热带痉挛性截瘫（HAM/TSP）患者和无症状携带者（AC）中的三个抑制基因。从2022年9月10日至2024年3月27日从三组中收集了30份样本。为确认所有样本，进行了ELISA和PCR检测。进行了外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）的分离、RNA提取和cDNA合成。随后，通过实时PCR测量了ITCH以及两种E3连接酶（包括AIP4和WWP1）的表达。这项调查显示，与健康组相比，HAM/TSP患者和AC个体中的ITCH显著增加。AIP4的mRNA表达水平在AC中上调；相比之下，HAM/TSP组和健康组中的表达水平大致相似。此外，AC中WWP1的平均表达水平高于其他组；然而，差异无统计学意义。我们的研究结果表明，在HTLV-1感染期间，细胞间抑制基因可能失调，这可能是病毒战略目标的一部分。这些发现有助于未来在诊断和治疗领域的研究。
