{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03934077618288145, 'fraction_numerical': 0.014354066985645933, 'mean_word_length': 5.626760563380282, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Human T‐lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I)‐specific CD8+ cells accumulate in the lungs of patients infected with HTLV‐I with pulmonary involvement

Pulmonary involvement has been identified in human T‐lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I) carriers and patients with HTLV‐I‐associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). However, the relationship between HTLV‐I infection and lung disease is poorly understood. The occurrence of HTLV‐I‐specific immune responses in the lungs of patients infected with HTLV‐I with pulmonary involvement was investigated. The frequency of HTLV‐I‐specific CD8+ cells and the amount of HTLV‐I proviral DNA were determined in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from five patients with HAM/TSP and one HTLV‐I carrier who had pulmonary involvement. HTLV‐I‐specific CD8+ cells were detected by flow cytometry using human leukocyte antigen/antigen complex multimers. The analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid revealed lymphocytosis in five of six patients. HTLV‐I provirus was detected in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells of all patients, and the proviral load in these cells was comparable to that in PBMCs. The frequency of HTLV‐I‐specific CD8+ cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells was 5.1 times higher than that in PBMCs. Immunohistochemically, clusters formed by HTLV‐I‐specific CD8+ cells were detected in lung tissue by in situ tetramer staining. No samples were available from patients infected with HTLV‐I without lung disorders. Whether accumulation of CD8+ cells is specific to patients with pulmonary involvement remains unclear. These results indicate that HTLV‐I‐specific CD8+ cells accumulate and HTLV‐I‐infected cells exist in the lungs of patients infected with HTLV‐I with pulmonary involvement. J. Med. Virol. 84: 1120–1127, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.