Potential Role of HTLV-1 Tax-Specific Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes expressing a Unique T-cell Receptor to Promote Inflammation of the Central Nervous System in Myelopathy Associated with HTLV-1

We performed immunoprofiling of HTLV-1 Tax301-309 (SFHSLHLLF) specific CD8+ T cells in PB of HAM patients associated with T cell activation by single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Live HTLV-1 Tax301-309-specific CD8+ T cells in PB of three HAM patients (-1, -7, -8) were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We performed scRNA-seq of 259 targeted gene expressions associated with T cell activation and TCR VDJ sequences of these cells using the BD Rhapsody Single-Cell Analysis System.