Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells Is Increasing in Human T Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV1) Asymptomatic Carriers

The role of angiogenesis in metastasis of solid tumors is well established, but not in hematologic malignancies. Marwan et al demonstrated that Human T Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV1) transformed T cells secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and induce angiogenesis in vitro. Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) leukemic cells produce VEGF and bFGF proteins. Therefore, the role of angiogenesis in ATL development is under investigation. We interested whether endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and mature endothelial cells (ECs) contribute to tumor angiogenesis in ATL Thought, this cross-sectional study aimed at quantifying circulating endothelial cells in the blood of HTLV1 asymptomatic carriers in comparison to healthy individuals by flow cytometry. A sample of 30 HTLV1 carrier age and sex matched has been compared to the control group. We demonstrated that the EPCs values were greater in the asymptomatic HTLV1 carrier (median 0.8288 cells/mm3) rather than to the control group (median 0.4905 cells/mm3) (p = 0.035). We identified other pathway of the angiogenesis in HTLV1 carriers. However, others studies are necessary to confirm the role of EPCs in the ATL pathogenesis.