Data pertaining to the following biomarkers were collected: CSF markers (CXCL10, neopterin, total protein, anti-HTLV-1 antibody titer, and cell counts) and HTLV-1-proviral load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In both hospitals, lumbar puncture for CSF examination is performed before and about 2 weeks after the start of treatment (mean ± standard deviation (SD): 2.5 ± 0.9 weeks from the first day of pulse therapy). CSF samples and PBMCs were prepared as described previously (Sato et al., 2013 (link)). Briefly, CSF obtained by lumbar puncture was used for routine laboratory tests and further analysis. The anti-HTLV-1 antibody titer in CSF was determined using the gelatin particle agglutination test (Serodia-HTLV-1; Fujirebio, Tokyo, Japan). Neopterin level in CSF was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography at a commercial laboratory (SRL Inc., Tokyo, Japan). CXCL10 in CSF was measured using a cytometric bead array (BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ, United States). PBMCs were isolated with standard procedures using Pancoll density gradient centrifugation (density 1.077 g/mL; PAN-Biotech GmbH, Aidenbach, Germany). HTLV-1 proviral load was measured using real-time PCR, following DNA extraction from PBMCs, as previously described (Yamano et al., 2002 (link)).
Free full text: Click here
