HTLV: It Is Time to Reach a Consensus on Its Nomenclature

Vallinoto, Antônio Carlos Rosário; Rosadas, Carolina; Machado, Luiz Fernando Almeida; Taylor, Graham P.; Ishak, Ricardo

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.896224

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These group of viruses not only cause malignancy but also other inflammatory and immunosuppressive diseases [1,2]. HTLVs are enveloped viruses with a diameter ranging from 80 to 100 nm and within the HTLV virions, the reverse transcriptase (RT), integrase, protease viral enzymes, and capsid proteins form complexes with the two covalently bonded genomic RNA strands [3,4]. The proviral genome of HTLVs is approximately 9kb in length and is flanked by 5' and 3' long terminal repeats (LTRs), which consist of U3, R, and U5 regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An immunoinformatics and extended molecular dynamics approach for designing a polyvalent vaccine against multiple strains of Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)

Moin,

Rani,

Ullah

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), a group of retroviruses belonging to the oncovirus family, has long been associated with various inflammatory and immunosuppressive disorders. At present, there is no approved vaccine capable of effectively combating all the highly pathogenic strains of HTLV that makes this group of viruses a potential threat to human health. To combat the devastating impact of any potential future outbreak caused by this virus group, our study employed a reverse vaccinology approach to design a novel polyvalent vaccine targeting the highly virulent subtypes of HTLV. Moreover, we comprehensively analyzed the molecular interactions between the designed vaccine and corresponding Toll-like receptors (TLRs), providing valuable insights for future research on preventing and managing HTLV-related diseases and any possible outbreaks. The vaccine was designed by focusing on the envelope glycoprotein gp62, a crucial protein involved in the infectious process and immune mechanisms of HTLV inside the human body. Epitope mapping identified T cell and B cell epitopes with low binding energies, ensuring their immunogenicity and safety. Linkers and adjuvants were incorporated to enhance the vaccine’s stability, antigenicity, and immunogenicity. Initially, two vaccine constructs were formulated, and among them, vaccine construct-2 exhibited superior solubility and structural stability. Molecular docking analyses also revealed strong binding affinity between the vaccine construct-2 and both targeted TLR2 and TLR4. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated enhanced stability, compactness, and consistent hydrogen bonding within TLR-vaccine complexes, suggesting a strong binding affinity. The stability of the complexes was further corroborated by contact, free energy, structure, and MM-PBSA analyses. Consequently, our research proposes a vaccine targeting multiple HTLV subtypes, offering valuable insights into the molecular interactions between the vaccine and TLRs. These findings should contribute to developing effective preventive and treatment approaches against HTLV-related diseases and preventing possible outbreaks. However, future research should focus on in-depth validation through experimental studies to confirm the interactions identified in silico and to evaluate the vaccine’s efficacy in relevant animal models and, eventually, in clinical trials.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An immunoinformatics and extended molecular dynamics approach for designing a polyvalent vaccine against multiple strains of Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)

Moin,

Rani,

Ullah

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These group of viruses not only cause malignancy but also other inflammatory and immunosuppressive diseases (1,2). HTLVs are enveloped viruses with a diameter ranging from 80 to 100 nm and within the HTLV virions, the reverse transcriptase (RT), integrase, protease viral enzymes, and capsid proteins form complexes with the two covalently bonded genomic RNA strands (3,4). The proviral genome of HTLVs is approximately 9kb in length and is flanked by 5' and 3' long terminal repeats (LTRs), which consist of U3, R, and U5 regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerating Cancer Vaccine Development for Human T-Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV) Using a High-Throughput Molecular Dynamics Approach

Moin,

Rani,

Ullah

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), a retrovirus belonging to the oncovirus family, has long been linked to be associated with various inflammatory and immunosuppressive disorders. To combat the devastating impact of this virus, our study employed a reverse vaccinology approach to design a multi-epitope-based vaccine targeting the highly virulent subtypes of HTLV. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the molecular interactions between the vaccine and Toll-like receptors (TLRs), providing valuable insights for future research on preventing and managing HTLV-related diseases and any possible outbreaks. The vaccine was designed by focusing on the envelope glycoprotein gp62, a crucial protein involved in the infectious process and immune mechanisms of HTLV inside the human body. Epitope mapping identified T cell and B cell epitopes with low binding energies, ensuring their immunogenicity and safety. Linkers and adjuvants were incorporated to enhance the vaccine's stability, antigenicity, and immunogenicity. Two vaccine constructs were developed, both exhibiting high antigenicity and conferring safety. Vaccine construct 2 demonstrated expected solubility and structural stability after disulfide engineering. Molecular docking analyses revealed strong binding affinity between the vaccine construct 2 and both TLR2 and TLR4. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the TLR2-vaccine complex displayed enhanced stability, compactness, and consistent hydrogen bond formation, suggesting a favorable affinity. Contact analysis, Gibbs free energy landscapes, and DCC analysis further supported the stability of the TLR2-vaccine complex, while DSSP analysis confirmed stable secondary structures. MM-PBSA analysis revealed a more favorable binding affinity of the TLR4-vaccine complex, primarily due to lower electrostatic energy. In conclusion, our study successfully designed a multi-epitope-based vaccine targeting HTLV subtypes and provided valuable insights into the molecular interactions between the vaccine and TLRs. These findings should contribute to the development of effective preventive and treatment approaches against HTLV-related diseases.

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“…Significantly, a consensus on the nomenclature of the HTLV family remains elusive. However, the prevalent and recommended terminology is 'human T-lymphotropic virus' followed by an Arabic numeral, such as HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex, Age, and Risk Group Variations among Individuals Infected with HIV, HTLV-1, and HTLV-2: Review of Data Records (1983–2017) from a Public Health Laboratory in São Paulo, Brazil

Caterino-de-Araujo

2023

Sexes

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The inaugural AIDS Program in Brazil was established in São Paulo in 1983, with the Instituto Adolfo Lutz appointed for laboratory assistance. Subsequently, research on HIV infections and HIV/HTLV (HIV/HTLV-1 and HIV/HTLV-2) co-infections was conducted. This narrative review focuses on studies from the Immunology Department (1983–2017) that significantly influenced AIDS diagnosis or provided epidemiological data such as prevalence rates, sex, age, and risk factors. Twelve studies, encompassing over 8000 individuals, are discussed. During 1983–1985, nearly all AIDS cases were attributed to homosexual/bisexual men aged 31 years old. Subsequently, heterosexual men and women emerged as risk groups owing to intravenous drug use (IDU) and/or unprotected sexual intercourse with AIDS patients or multiple partners per year. From 1985 onwards, vertical transmission led to child infections. HIV/HTLV co-infection rates decreased over time, initially associated with male IDU, and in the 2010s with female IDU, and individuals aged >40 years. Trends in HIV and HIV/HTLV co-infections among younger men and women (<30 years of age) were observed from 2015 to 2017. The changing characteristics and risk groups for HIV and HIV/HTLV co-infections over the years underscore the necessity for ongoing public policies to prevent retrovirus transmission, particularly among adolescents and young adults.

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HTLV: It Is Time to Reach a Consensus on Its Nomenclature

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

An immunoinformatics and extended molecular dynamics approach for designing a polyvalent vaccine against multiple strains of Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)

An immunoinformatics and extended molecular dynamics approach for designing a polyvalent vaccine against multiple strains of Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)

Accelerating Cancer Vaccine Development for Human T-Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV) Using a High-Throughput Molecular Dynamics Approach

Sex, Age, and Risk Group Variations among Individuals Infected with HIV, HTLV-1, and HTLV-2: Review of Data Records (1983–2017) from a Public Health Laboratory in São Paulo, Brazil

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