HTLV-1 uveitis (HU).

We reported HTLV-1 uveitis (HU) as the third distinct clinical entity associated with HTLV-1 infection. Uveitis has advantages for studying the pathogenetic mechanisms of inflammatory diseases caused by HTLV-1, since observation of the disease process is relatively easy and clinical samples from the lesion can be obtained. Results of our clinical, virological and epidemiological studies of HU patients will be first summarized. Then we present results on in vitro studies that showed transactivation of HTLV-1 LTR by thyroid hormone and discuss the significance in the context of pathogenesis of HTLV-1-related inflammatory diseases.