Event Abstract Back to Event A novel mechanism of HTLV-1-associated mylopathytropical spastic paraparesis (HAMTSP) pathogenesis Abbas Pishdadian1, Jalil Tavakkol Afshari2* and Mohsen Foroughi Pour3 1 Mashad University of Medical Sciences, Bu-Ali Research Institute, Immunology Research Center, Iran 2 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Immunology Research Institute, Iran 3 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Neurology Department, Ghaem Hospital, Iran Introduction Human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), is etiologic agent of HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), a slowly progressive neurologic disease. Soluble form of Fas (sFas) molecule implicate in Fas signaling, suggesting a role in some pathogenesis. We hypothesized that existence of sFas might cause partial resistance against Fas-mediated apoptotsis seen in HAM/TSP patients. Methods and Materials Twenty people of each HAM/TSP patient, asymptomatic HTLV-1 carrier (AC) and healthy volunteer groups, who were followed at HTLV-1-Clinic of Ghaem Hospital, were chosen. Gene expression (using semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)) and serum protein level (using a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)) of sFas in each three subject groups were evaluated. Results The Mean sFas serum level in patients (0.389 ng/ml) was significantly higher than healthy individuals (0.131 ng/ml) (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between HAM/TSP patients and ACs (0.253 ng/ml) (p=0.17) and also no significant differences between AC and healthy groups (p=0.16). Although the mean sFas gene expression in patients (0.456) was higher than both carriers (0.304) (p=0.35) and control individuals (0.221) (p=0.15), and also in carriers was higher than controls (p=0.6), but these differences were not statistically significant. There was no significant difference and correlation between sFas serum level and gene expression in each three subject groups. Conclusion These results suggest that sFas may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HAM/TSP and that serum sFas may be related to clinical activity in HAM/TSP patients, but the source of the elevated serum sFas in HTLV-1 infected patients remains unclear. Keywords: Fas/Fas L, HTLV-1, soluble Fas, RT-PCR, HAM/TSP patients, serum level sFas Conference: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Milan, Italy, 22 Aug - 27 Aug, 2013. Presentation Type: Abstract Topic: Host-pathogen interactions Citation: Pishdadian A, Tavakkol Afshari J and Foroughi Pour M (2013). A novel mechanism of HTLV-1-associated mylopathytropical spastic paraparesis (HAMTSP) pathogenesis. Front. Immunol. Conference Abstract: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2013.02.01179 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 31 Jul 2013; Published Online: 22 Aug 2013. * Correspondence: Dr. Jalil Tavakkol Afshari, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Immunology Research Institute, Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, 9196773117, Iran, tavakolaj@mums.ac.ir Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Abbas Pishdadian Jalil Tavakkol Afshari Mohsen Foroughi Pour Google Abbas Pishdadian Jalil Tavakkol Afshari Mohsen Foroughi Pour Google Scholar Abbas Pishdadian Jalil Tavakkol Afshari Mohsen Foroughi Pour PubMed Abbas Pishdadian Jalil Tavakkol Afshari Mohsen Foroughi Pour Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.