The family of human T-lymphotropic leukemia viruses: HTLV-1 as the cause of adult T cell leukemia and HTLV-III as the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Abstract

HTLV-I is the etiologic agent of adult T cell leukemia (ATL), a malignant disease characterized by abnormal T cell proliferation, and HTLV-III is the etiologic agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease characterized by T cell depletion and immunosuppression. In vitro, HTLV-I causes immortalization and transformation of normal T lymphocytes, while HTLV-III is cytopathic, and kills its target cell rather than immortalizes it.