HTLV-1-specific T cell suppression in infected individuals

人类T细胞白血病病毒1型(HTLV-1)特异性CD8+T细胞反应弱可能是成人T细胞白血病(ATL)发生的危险因素之一。在这项研究中，我们发现，不仅在大多数ATL患者中，而且在一小部分无症状携带者中，也可以观察到低HTLV-1特异性CD8+T细胞反应。我们还发现，这种低CD8+T细胞反应可能主要归因于HTLV-1特异性CD8+T细胞本身的功能损害，部分原因是抗原提呈细胞功能降低以及调节性T细胞和感染细胞的免疫抑制。

It is believed that a weak CD8+ T cell response specific for human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) may be one of risk factors for the development of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). In this study, we showed that a low HTLV-1-specific CD8+ T cell response could be observed not only in most ATL patients but also in a small population of asymptomatic carriers. We also found that this low CD8+ T cell response might be attributed mainly to functional impairment of HTLV-1-specific CD8+ T cells themselves and in part to a reduced function of antigen-presenting cells and an immune suppression by regulatory T cells and infected cells.