Inhibition of Caspase Cascade by HTLV-I Tax Through Induction of NF-κB Nuclear Translocation

NF-κB is required for prevention of apoptosis. We examined the importance of human T-cell leukemia virus–I (HTLV-I) Tax protein to stimulate NF-κB nuclear translocation, thus preventing apoptosis. Jurkat cells and JPX-9 cells in which the inducible Tax expression plasmid vector was stably transfected were used in the present study. Both Jurkat and Tax− JPX-9 cells had small amounts of basal nuclear NF-κB activity. The addition of NF-κB inhibitors suppressed NF-κB nuclear translocation of the cells, thus inducing apoptosis. Sequential activation of caspases from caspase-8 to caspase-3 was shown during this process. NF-κB nuclear translocation in JPX-9 cells was stimulated through Tax expression, and both the activation of caspases and apoptosis induced by NF-κB inhibitors were significantly suppressed in the Tax+ JPX-9 cells. The expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and Bcl-x was not changed among Jurkat, Tax− JPX-9, and Tax+ JPX-9 cells in the presence or absence of NF-κB inhibitors. X-chromosome–linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) protein expression in Tax−JPX-9 cells was significantly suppressed by NF-κB inhibitors, however, its expression in Tax+ JPX-9 cells was maintained even by the addition of NF-κB inhibitors. Our results suggest that the activation of NF-κB via Tax protein in HTLV-I infected cells renders the cells resistant to apoptosis. The expression of anti-apoptotic gene products such as XIAP to suppress caspase cascade, results in an increase of cytokine production and cell proliferation; one of the proposed mechanisms that promotes autoimmune disorders such as Sjögren’s syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis found in HTLV-I seropositive subjects.