A team of researchers from Penn State College of Medicine found a new target for treating diseases associated with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 . They determined that blocking a class of enzymes called kinases, which regulates cellular functions, leads to cell death caused by the degradation of Tax, a protein essential for viral gene expression, viral transmission and survival of cells infected by HTLV-1.
"KDR wasn't on our radar because it's normally expressed in endothelial cells and regulates blood vessel formation," Harhaj said."We were surprised that it was expressed in T cells -- a type of white blood cell that protects against infection -- and this particular leukemia we were studying. No one has ever implicated it before for the survival of these particular cells.
The findings point to a potential drug target for the treatment of ATLL and HAM/TSP. The researchers said that repurposing an existing KDR inhibitor or developing a new one could also potentially reduce the viral load of HTLV-1, possibly reducing the risk of developing disease.
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