Review
The HBZ gene, a key player in HTLV-1 pathogenesis
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* Corresponding author: Patrick L Green green.466@osu.edu
1 Laboratory of Virus Control, Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
2 Center for Retrovirus Research, Departments of Veterinary Biosciences and Molecular Virology, and Medical Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center and Solove Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Retrovirology 2009, 6:71 doi:10.1186/1742-4690-6-71
Published: 3 August 2009Abstract
Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) causes adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and is also associated with a variety of lymphocyte-mediated diseases. The HTLV-1 basic leucine zipper (HBZ) gene, found to be consistently expressed in ATL, has recently been the subject of intensive research efforts. In this review, we summarize recent findings about HBZ and discuss its roles and functions not only in the virus life cycle, but also in HTLV-1 disease pathogenesis.