Genome-wide analysis of gene expression profiles in individuals infected with the Human T-Lymphotropic virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) - train set

Infection with the human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) remains asymptomatic in the majority of carriers; however, some 5% develop a chronic inflammation of the central nervous system termed HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM). It is not well understood how the virus triggers the onset of HAM after many years of clinical latency and importantly, what distinguishes hosts who develop the disease from those who remain asymptomatic. In this study we tested the hypothesis that patients with HAM can be distinguished from asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers (ACs) and uninfected subjects by their whole blood transcriptional profiles. Here, we compare unstimulated whole blood gene expression profiles of 20 asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers (ACs), 10 patients with HAM and 9 uninfected healthy control subjects to (1) identify a transcriptional signature associated with presence of HAM and (2) identify cell types and pathways abnormally regulated in HAM by canonical and modular pathway analysis.

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Tattermusch S, Skinner JA, Chaussabel D, Banchereau J, Berry MP, McNab FW, O'Garra A, Taylor GP, Bangham CR