Identification of a novel motif responsible for the distinctive transforming activity of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) type 1 Tax1 protein from HTLV-2 Tax2.

Background: Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), whereas its relative HTLV-2 is not associated with any malignancies including ATL. HTLV-1 Tax1 transformed a T-cell line from interleukin (IL)-2-dependent growth to IL-2-independent growth, with an activity that was much more potent in comparison to HTLV-2 Tax2. This distinction was mediated by at least two Tax1 specific functions, an interaction with host cellular factors through the PDZ domain binding motif (PBM) and the activation of NF-kappa B2 (NF-kappa B2)/p100.

Knockdown of synapse-associated protein Dlg1 reduces syncytium formation induced by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) spreads through cell-to-cell contact by forming a virological synapse. Based on the finding that HTLV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) binds to a PDZ domain containing scaffold protein Dlg1, whose function has been implicated in the organization of neuronal and immunological synapses, we examined the role of Dlg1 in the cell-cell infection by HTLV-1. The coculture of an HTLV-1-infected T-cell line MT-2 with an uninfected MOLT-4 induced syncytium, a marker of cell-cell HTLV-1 infection, but an RNA interference-mediated knockdown of Dlg1 in both cells cooperatively reduced the syncytium formation.