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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1462352
This article is part of the Research Topic Modulation of Pro-Inflammatory Signaling by Interferons View all 3 articles

TLR7 rs179008 (A/T) and TLR7 rs3853839 (C/G) polymorphisms are associated with variations in IFN-α levels in HTLV-1 infection

Provisionally accepted
Emmanuelle Giuliana Mendes Santana Emmanuelle Giuliana Mendes Santana 1Fabiane dos Santos Ferreira Fabiane dos Santos Ferreira 1Wandrey Brito Wandrey Brito 1Felipe Teixeira Lopes Felipe Teixeira Lopes 1Aline Lima Aline Lima 1Gabriel dos Santos Pereira Neto Gabriel dos Santos Pereira Neto 1Ednelza da Silva Graça Amoras Ednelza da Silva Graça Amoras 1Sandra Souza Lima Sandra Souza Lima 1Carlos Araujo Da Costa Carlos Araujo Da Costa 2Maísa Silva de Sousa Maísa Silva de Sousa 2Ricardo Ishak Ricardo Ishak 1Izaura M.V. Cayres-Vallinoto Izaura M.V. Cayres-Vallinoto 1Antonio C. R. Vallinoto Antonio C. R. Vallinoto 1Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz 1*
  • 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem, Brazil
  • 2 Tropical Medicine Center, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    TLR7 detects the presence of single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses, including human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1), and triggers antiviral and inflammatory responses that are responsible for infection control. Genetic variations in the TLR7 gene may alter cytokine production and influence the course of HTLV-1 infection. In the present study, the associations of TLR7 gene polymorphisms with HTLV-1related symptoms, receptor expression levels, IFN-α and TNF-α levels and the proviral load were investigated. Blood samples from 159 individuals with HTLV-1 infection (66 with inflammatory diseases and 93 asymptomatic individuals) and 159 controls were collected. The genotyping of polymorphisms, TLR7 gene expression analysis and the quantification of the proviral load were performed by real-time PCR, and cytokine measurement was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Carriers of the polymorphic allele for TLR7 rs179008 (A/T) had lower levels of IFN-α, while carriers of the polymorphic allele for TLR7 rs3853839 (C/G) had higher levels of TLR7 and IFN-α expression. The polymorphisms were not associated with symptoms of diseases related to HTLV-1 infection. The combination of A/G alleles for the TLR7 rs179008 (A/T) and TLR7 rs3853839 (C/G) polymorphisms was associated with increased IFN-α levels and a decreased proviral load. Although the polymorphisms did not influence the presence of symptoms of diseases caused by HTLV-1, carriers of the wild-type alleles for TLR7 rs179008 (A/T) and the polymorphism for TLR7 rs3853839 (C/G) appears to have a stronger antiviral response and increased infection control.

    Keywords: HTLV-I infection, Toll-Like Receptor 7, Polymorphism genetic, gene expression profile, Interferon-alpha

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 01 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Santana, Ferreira, Brito, Lopes, Lima, Pereira Neto, Amoras, Lima, Da Costa, Sousa, Ishak, Cayres-Vallinoto, Vallinoto and Queiroz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belem, Brazil

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