Reducing the global burden of HTLV-1 infection: An agenda for research and action

Luc Willems; Hideki Hasegawa; Roberto Accolla; Charles Bangham; Ali Bazarbachi; Umberto Bertazzoni; Anna Barbara de Freitas Carneiro-Proietti; Hua Cheng; Luigi Chieco-Bianchi; Vincenzo Ciminale; Jordana Coelho-Dos-Reis; José Esparza; Robert C Gallo; Antoine Gessain; Eduardo Gotuzzo; William Hall; Joseph Harford; Olivier Hermine; Steven Jacobson; Beatrice Macchi; Calum Macpherson; Renaud Mahieux; Masao Matsuoka; Edward Murphy; Jean-Marie Peloponese; Viviana Simon; Yutaka Tagaya; Graham P Taylor; Toshiki Watanabe; Yoshihisa Yamano

doi:10.1016/j.antiviral.2016.10.015

Reducing the global burden of HTLV-1 infection: An agenda for research and action

Antiviral Res. 2017 Jan:137:41-48. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2016.10.015. Epub 2016 Nov 11.

Authors

Luc Willems¹, Hideki Hasegawa², Roberto Accolla³, Charles Bangham⁴, Ali Bazarbachi⁵, Umberto Bertazzoni⁶, Anna Barbara de Freitas Carneiro-Proietti⁷, Hua Cheng⁸, Luigi Chieco-Bianchi⁹, Vincenzo Ciminale⁹, Jordana Coelho-Dos-Reis¹⁰, José Esparza⁸, Robert C Gallo⁸, Antoine Gessain¹¹, Eduardo Gotuzzo¹², William Hall¹³, Joseph Harford¹⁴, Olivier Hermine¹⁵, Steven Jacobson¹⁶, Beatrice Macchi¹⁷, Calum Macpherson¹⁸, Renaud Mahieux¹⁹, Masao Matsuoka²⁰, Edward Murphy²¹, Jean-Marie Peloponese²², Viviana Simon²³, Yutaka Tagaya⁸, Graham P Taylor⁴, Toshiki Watanabe²⁴, Yoshihisa Yamano²⁵

Affiliations

¹ University of Liege, Belgium; Chairs of the HTLV Taskforce of the Global Virus Network, USA. Electronic address: luc.willems@ulg.ac.be.
² National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan; Chairs of the HTLV Taskforce of the Global Virus Network, USA.
³ University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
⁴ Imperial College, London, UK.
⁵ American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁶ University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
⁷ Fundação Hemominas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
⁸ Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, USA.
⁹ University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
¹⁰ René Rachou Research Center, FIOCRUZ, Belo Brazil Horizonte, Brazil.
¹¹ Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
¹² Tropical Medical Institute Alexander von Humboldt, Lima, Peru.
¹³ Centre for Research in Infectious Disease, Dublin, Ireland.
¹⁴ National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, USA.
¹⁵ Hôpital Necker, Paris, France.
¹⁶ National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, USA.
¹⁷ University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
¹⁸ St. George's University, Grenada.
¹⁹ Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France.
²⁰ Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
²¹ University of California, San Francisco, USA.
²² University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
²³ Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.
²⁴ University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁵ St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.

PMID: 27840202
DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2016.10.015

Abstract

Even though an estimated 10-20 million people worldwide are infected with the oncogenic retrovirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), its epidemiology is poorly understood, and little effort has been made to reduce its prevalence. In response to this situation, the Global Virus Network launched a taskforce in 2014 to develop new methods of prevention and treatment of HTLV-1 infection and promote basic research. HTLV-1 is the etiological agent of two life-threatening diseases, adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, for which no effective therapy is currently available. Although the modes of transmission of HTLV-1 resemble those of the more familiar HIV-1, routine diagnostic methods are generally unavailable to support the prevention of new infections. In the present article, the Taskforce proposes a series of actions to expand epidemiological studies; increase research on mechanisms of HTLV-1 persistence, replication and pathogenesis; discover effective treatments; and develop prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.

Keywords: HTLV-1; Leukemia; Oncogene; Retrovirus; Vaccine.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Advisory Committees
Biomedical Research*
Cost of Illness
Global Health*
HIV Infections / epidemiology
HIV Infections / prevention & control
HIV Infections / virology
HTLV-I Infections* / drug therapy
HTLV-I Infections* / epidemiology
HTLV-I Infections* / prevention & control
HTLV-I Infections* / transmission
Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / isolation & purification
Humans
Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / virology
Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / drug therapy
Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / prevention & control
Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / virology
Spinal Cord Diseases / drug therapy
Spinal Cord Diseases / prevention & control
Spinal Cord Diseases / virology