Gene expression profiles of CD8+ T Lymphocytes isolated from HTLV-1 infected individuals

HTLV-1 is the etiologic agent of HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). CD8+ T cells may contribute to the protection or development of HAM/TSP. In this study we used SAGE to assess gene expression profiles of CD8+ T cells isolated from HTLV-1 asymptomatic carriers (HAC) and from HAM/TSP patients, in order to identify genes involved in the HAM/TSP development. Analysis of SAGE was conducted by pooling samples according to clinical status. The comparison of gene expression profiles between controls and HAC or HAM/TSP identified around 900 genes. HAC versus HAM/TSP libraries showed 285 differentially expressed genes. We found that CXCR4 had a lower expression level in the HTLV-1 infected group than in controls. CCL5 had higher expression in HAM/TSP group, as compared to HAC. Our results provide a large-scale perspective of gene expression that may be further tested with functional assays to increase our understanding on the HTLV1-related diseases pathology. Comparative analysis of gene expression profiles of CD8+ T Lymphocytes isolated from HTLV-1 infected individuals.

人类T细胞白血病病毒1型（HTLV-1）是HTLV-1相关性脊髓病/热带痉挛性截瘫（HAM/TSP）的致病因子。CD8阳性T细胞（CD8+ T cells）可能参与HAM/TSP的疾病保护或发病进程。本研究采用基因表达系列分析（Serial Analysis of Gene Expression, SAGE）技术，对从HTLV-1无症状携带者（HAC）及HAM/TSP患者体内分离的CD8阳性T细胞的基因表达谱进行检测，旨在筛选参与HAM/TSP发病的相关基因。研究按照临床状态对样本进行混合分组后开展SAGE分析。通过对比对照组与HTLV-1无症状携带者组或HAM/TSP患者组的基因表达谱，共鉴定出约900个基因。HTLV-1无症状携带者组与HAM/TSP患者组的转录文库间存在285个差异表达基因。本研究发现，CXCR4在HTLV-1感染组中的表达水平显著低于对照组；与HTLV-1无症状携带者组相比，CCL5在HAM/TSP组中的表达水平更高。本研究结果为HTLV-1相关疾病的基因表达提供了大规模全景视角，后续可通过功能实验进一步验证相关发现，以加深我们对HTLV-1相关疾病病理机制的理解。本研究即针对从HTLV-1感染个体体内分离的CD8阳性T淋巴细胞的基因表达谱展开对比分析。