Free Topic : "HTLV-1"

HTLV-1, or human T-cell lymphotropic virus, is a retrovirus which was the first to associate it with oncological diseases in humans. Its genetic material is made up of two single-chain RNA molecules with positive polarity. This virus mainly causes two diseases, a malignant hemopathy called adult T-cell leukemia / lymphoma (ATL), and it also develops a subacute myelopathy called tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP). This retrovirus can be transmitted through fluids that have live cells that contain the virus, since cell-to-cell contact is the most effective for infection, it can be transmitted like HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), for the blood, seminal and vaginal fluids, through lactation and childbirth. The target cells for infection are those of the immune system, being the preferential for HTLV-1 CD4 + T lymphocytes, causing in this a dysregulation of the immune system and thus cause the various diseases associated with this virus.