# How HTLV-I Tax and HBZ control telomerase activity to induce adult T-cell leukemia

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $346,995

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is an onco-retrovirus that infects and transforms human CD4
T cells in vitro and in vivo. HTLV-I is the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), an
aggressive and invariably fatal hematological disease. The virus is transmitted through sexual contact,
contaminated blood and mother-to-child by breastfeeding, and is present in 20-30 million people worldwide.
HTLV-I-mediated T-cell transformation arises from a multi-step oncogenic process in which the virus induces
chronic T-cell proliferation, resulting in accumulation of genetic defects and deregulated cell growth. It is not yet
fully understood how HTLV-I engenders ATLL, but the virus blocks the apoptotic network and expends the
proliferative capacity of infected cells. HTLV-I infects and immortalizes primary human T cells in vitro and, after
several months, these cells acquire the ability to grow in the absence of interleukin-2, referred to as
transformation. We previously demonstrated that the viral oncogenic Tax can reactivate telomerase
expression, an event required for long-term proliferation of HTLV-I-transformed cells in vitro and in vivo. This
application will investigate the molecular events associated with deregulated telomerase activity and its role in
the HTLV-I transformation process. Since telomerase reactivation represents one of the central steps in human
carcinogenesis, results from this study will have broad application beyond viral oncogenesis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9960440
- **Project number:** 5R01CA201309-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTOPHE P NICOT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $346,995
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9960440

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9960440, How HTLV-I Tax and HBZ control telomerase activity to induce adult T-cell leukemia (5R01CA201309-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9960440. Licensed CC0.

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