All B-CLL cells expressed constitutive Trx at varying but low levels, in contrast to adult T-cell leukemias, which overexpress Trx, as previously reported.
Human thioredoxin (hTRX)/adult T-cell leukemia (ATL)-derived factor (ADF) was originally reported as an interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor-alpha-inducing factor produced by human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1-positive (HTLV-1+) cell lines.
Adult T cell leukemia derived factor (ADF)/thioredoxin (Trx) is known to be an important intracellular antioxidant involved in a number of redox reactions such as ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) as well as of tyrosinase.
To test the possibility that ADF produced by HTLV-1(+) T cells is involved in the abnormal expression of IL 2-R, we studied the effect of ADF on an HTLV-1(+) IL 2-dependent T cell line (ED) in which the beta-chain gene of the T cell antigen receptor (T beta) was rearranged.