A Transgenic Drosophila melanogaster Model To Study Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Oncoprotein Tax-1-Driven Transformation In Vivo

J Virol. 2015 Aug;89(15):8092-5. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00918-15. Epub 2015 May 20.

Abstract

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-induced adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma is an aggressive malignancy. HTLV-2 is genetically related to HTLV-1 but does not cause any malignant disease. HTLV-1 Tax transactivator (Tax-1) contributes to leukemogenesis via NF-κB. We describe transgenic Drosophila models expressing Tax in the compound eye and plasmatocytes. We demonstrate that Tax-1 but not Tax-2 induces ommatidial perturbation and increased plasmatocyte proliferation and that the eye phenotype is dependent on Kenny (IKKγ/NEMO), thus validating this new in vivo model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Transformation, Viral*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster / metabolism
  • Drosophila melanogaster / virology*
  • Eye / pathology
  • Eye / virology
  • Gene Products, tax / genetics
  • Gene Products, tax / metabolism*
  • HTLV-I Infections / virology*
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / genetics
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / physiology*
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / genetics
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / metabolism
  • Humans

Substances

  • Gene Products, tax
  • tax protein, Human T-lymphotrophic virus 1
  • tax protein, Human T-lymphotrophic virus 2