Comparative Analysis and Molecular Structure of the Protease Molecule from Human Lymphotropic Virus Type-1 (HTLV-1)

Background and Aims: Human lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) causes various diseases in human such as adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraperesis (HAM / TSP). The main goal of this study was to compare Iranian protease subtypes structure of this virus (HTLV-1) to samples collected from other part of world in order to understand their differences. Materials and Methods: During 1394 -1395, 10 blood samples taken from HTLV-1 virus infected individuals. Samples were tested using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. The obtained products were sequenced and phylogenetic analysis was performed. The second and third structures of these sequences were determined using a specialized websites. Results: The Iranian samples were completely exposed in to the cluster of Cosmopolitan subtype. The result of first structure alignment of protease protein in different subtypes of the virus, revealed some differences in the gene of interest. The conversion of the first structure to second and third structures, pairwise and multiple alignment showed no significant difference in the protease protein conformation. Conclusions: The comparison of HTLV-1 virus protease protein from Iran and other sequences in the world which were obtained from GenBank showed no significant dissimilarity. This dissimilarity helps to design a plan for production of the drug. Therefore, future studies can target a part of the protein and generalize a treatment for all subtypes circulating. This comparison has beneficiary effect in making the right medication that inhibit the subtypes of the virus emerging during the course of treatment.