The activation status of a recently identified STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) factor, LIL-Stat (lipopolysaccharide [LPS]/IL-1-inducible Stat) in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) cells was investigated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays using nuclear extracts of leukemic cells from 7 patients with ATL and a GAS (gamma interferon activation site)-like element termed LILRE (LPS/IL-1-responsive element), which is found in the human prointerleukin 1beta (IL1B) gene.
Also, these studies show that the pattern of IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta gene expression differs between primary ATL tumor cells and long-term cultured ATL cell lines, indicating an interesting biological difference in these two HTLV-I-infected cell populations.