Increased seroreactivity to HERV-K10 peptides in patients with HTLV myelopathy

• Published in: Virology journal 2013-12, Vol.10 (1), p.360-360, Article 360
• Main Authors: Perzova, Raisa, Graziano, Elliot, Sanghi, Swathi, Welch, Caitlin, Benz, Patricia, Abbott, Lynn, Lalone, Danielle, Glaser, Jordan, Loughran, Thomas, Sheremata, William, Poiesz, Bernard J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antigens, Viral - immunology; Autoimmune diseases; Blood donors; Care and treatment; Cohort Studies; Cross Reactions; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Endogenous Retroviruses - immunology; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Gene Products, gag - immunology; Health aspects; HTLV-I Infections - complications; HTLV-I Infections - pathology; HTLV-II Infections - complications; HTLV-II Infections - pathology; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - immunology; Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 - immunology; Humans; Leukemia; Microbiology; Multiple sclerosis; Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas; North America; Peptides; Physiological aspects; Risk factors; Spinal Cord Diseases - pathology; Studies; T cells; Viral antibodies
• ISSN: 1743-422X; 1743-422X
• DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-10-360

Previously, we had shown that persons infected with human T-cell lymphoma leukemia virus 1 or 2 (HTLV-1 or 2) had an increased prevalence of antibodies to a peptide in the Pol protein of the retrovirus HERV-K10, homologous to a peptide in HTLV gp21 envelope protein. The prevalence rate was higher in those with myelopathy vs. non-myelopathy. We have now extended our observations to a cohort restricted to North America in whom the diagnosis of HTLV myelopathy was rigorously confirmed to also test for reactivity to another HERV-K10 peptide homologous to the HTLV p24 Gag protein. Sera from 100 volunteer blood donors (VBD), 53 patients with large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL), 74 subjects with HTLV-1 or 2 infection (58 non-myelopathy and 16 myelopathy) and 83 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were evaluated in ELISA assays using the above peptides. The HTLV myelopathy patients had a statistically significant increased prevalence of antibodies to both HERV-K10 peptides (87.5%) vs. the VBD (0%), LGLL patients (0%), MS patients (4.8%), and the HTLV positive non-myelopathy subjects (5.2%). The data suggest that immuno-cross-reactivity to HERV-K10 peptides and/or transactivation of HERV-K10 expression by the HTLV Tax protein may be involved in the pathogenesis of HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and spastic ataxia.