transforming-growth-factor-alpha and HTLV-I-Infections

The aim of this study was to show the clinical and pathological characteristics of anti-centromere-antibody (ACA)-seropositive Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in two anti-human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I)-seropositive patients.. One patient was an HTLV-I carrier whereas the other was diagnosed with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM). Background data including serum HTLV-I titers, viral loads, and cytokine profiles were recorded. Azocarmine with aniline blue (Azan)-Mallory staining and immunohistochemistry of the labial salivary glands (LSGs) and a muscle biopsy specimen from the HAM patient were performed.. Serum transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and HTLV-I viral load were high in the HAM-SS patient compared with the HTLV-I carrier. Fibrous change in LSG was prominent in the HAM-SS patient. Although TGF-β expression was similar in the two patients, expression of HTLV-I-related proteins including p12, p28, group-specific antigen (GAG), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) in the LSG were dominantly detected in the HAM-SS patient. Frequency of TGF-β staining in HTLV-I-seropositive SS patients without ACA, HTLV-I-seronegative SS patients with ACA, and HTLV-I-seronegative SS patients without ACA was lower than that of the previous two patients.. A high HTLV-I viral load in situ is supposed to promote the production of cytokines, especially TGF-β, resulting in the fibrous change of LSG in ACA-seropositive SS patients.

Topics: Antibodies, Antinuclear; Biomarkers; Carrier State; Centromere; Female; Fibrosis; HTLV-I Infections; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Humans; Lip; Middle Aged; Mouth Mucosa; Muscle, Skeletal; Salivary Glands, Minor; Sjogren's Syndrome; Transforming Growth Factor alpha; Transforming Growth Factor beta; Viral Load; Viral Proteins; Xerostomia