miRNA expression profiling in Adult T-cell Leukemia (ATL) cells and in Normal CD4+ T-cells

HTLV-1 infected individuals stay as carriers for their lifetimes, while the rest of 5% are killed by ATL. ATL leukemogenesis is a complex process involving accumulation of multiple genetic abnormalities in HTLV-1 infected cells. To clarify genetic events underlying ATL leukemogenesis, we conducted comprehensive miRNA expression profiling in 40 ATL patients and in 22 healthy volunteers. Total RNA samples from PBMC of ATL patients (mostly HTLV-1 inefcted CD4+ T-cells) and from CD4+ T-cells from healthy donors were subjected to Cy-3 labeling followed by miRNA expression microarray analyses.