Abstract.
To investigate the mechanism of synovial hyperplasia by human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection, the enzymatic activity of telomerase and expression of telomerase-related factors in HTLV-I infected synoviocytes were examined. Cultured synoviocytes obtained from four patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and four with traumatic joint disease (TJD) were infected by HTLV-I. Telomerase activity was detected by telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. Expression of telomerase-related mRNAs such as telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), telomerase RNA component (hTERC), and telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2) were also examined. Telomerase activity was detected in all HTLV-I-infected synoviocytes but not in uninfected synoviocytes. A remarkable induction of hTERT mRNA was observed in four of eight HTLV-I-infected synoviocytes, whereas expressions of hTERC, TRF2, and TEP-1 mRNAs were not changed. Our results clearly demonstrate that HTLV-I upregulates telomerase activity in synoviocytes probably via upregulation of hTERT activity. These findings suggest that telomerase activation in synoviocytes has an important role in upregulated proliferative activity of HAAP synoviocytes.
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Tsumuki, .H., Nakazawa, .M., Hasunuma, .T. et al. Infection of synoviocytes with HTLV-I induces telomerase activity. Rheumatol Int 20, 175–179 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002960100111
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002960100111