[Frontiers in Bioscience 14, 4138-4148, January 1, 2009]

Protein-protein interactions and gene expression regulation in HTLV-1 infected cells

Sebastien Legros, Mathieu Boxus, Jean Francois Dewulf, Franck Dequiedt, Richard Kettmann, Jean Claude Twizere

Cellular and Molecular Biology Unit, FUSAGx, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Regulation of HTLV-1 gene expression
3.1. Interaction of the HTLV-1 LTR with transcription factors
3.2. Interaction of Tax with transcriptional activators
3.3. Interaction of Tax transcriptional repressors
3.4. Contribution of Rex, p30 and HBZ in regulating HTLV-1 expression
4. Regulation of cellular gene expression in htlv-1 infected cells
4.1. The CREB/ATF pathway
4.2. The NF-kB pathway
4.3. The SRF pathway
5. Conclusion
6. Acknowledgements
7. References

1. ABSTRACT

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) propagates in CD4 or CD8 T cells and, after extended latency periods of 30-50 years, causes a rapidly fatal leukemia called adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). Infection with HTLV-1 is also associated with a degenerative neuromuscular disease referred to as tropical spastic paraparesis or HTLV-1-associated myelopathy. HTLV genome, in addition to the structural proteins and retroviral enzymes, codes for a region at its 3' end originally designated pX. The products of this region (Tax, Rex, p12I, p13II, p30II and HBZ) play important roles in deregulation of cellular functions by either directly disrupting cellular factors or altering transcription of viral and cellular genes. Here, we will review current knowledge of protein-protein interactions that regulate transcriptional functions of proteins encoded by the pX region.