Coordination of the canonical and noncanonical IKK/NF-κB signaling pathways in HTLV-I Tax-mediated tumorigenesis

NF-kappaB activation: Tax sumoylation is out, but what about Tax ubiquitination?

Activation of the NF-κB transcription factors by the viral protein Tax plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of diseases associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). The Tax oncoprotein undergoes constitutive K63-linked ubiquitination and sumoylation; however, the roles and molecular mechanisms of these post-translational modifications in Tax-mediated NF-κB activation are being debated. Here, we discuss our current understanding of Tax activation of NF-κB, with a focus on the controversies and the challenges that we are facing.

Conference highlights of the 15th International Conference on Human Retrovirology: HTLV and related retroviruses, 4-8 June 2011, Leuven, Gembloux, Belgium

The June 2011 15th International Conference on Human Retrovirology: HTLV and Related Viruses marks approximately 30 years since the discovery of HTLV-1. As anticipated, a large number of abstracts were submitted and presented by scientists, new and old to the field of retrovirology, from all five continents. The aim of this review is to distribute the scientific highlights of the presentations as analysed and represented by experts in specific fields of epidemiology, clinical research, immunology, animal models, molecular and cellular biology, and virology.