Oral Presentation Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress 2026

Targeting the Human T-cell Leukaemia Virus Type-1 Capsid Protein (137049)

Jun Xuan Ang 1 , Lisa Alcock 2 , Yu Heng Lau 1
  1. School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
  2. School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia

Discovered in 1979, human T-cell leukaemia virus type-1 (HTLV-1) was the first pathogenic human retrovirus to be identified.1, 2 The virus has been estimated to infect 5 to 10 million people globally and causes severe conditions in approximately 10% of carriers, including fatal adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL), HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and other inflammatory disorders.3 Unlike the closely related human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there are currently no approved therapies for treating HTLV-1.

Recent success in the development of capsid (CA) protein binders for HIV prevention, through disruption of CA assembly and interactions with host factors, has highlighted the therapeutic value of targeting retroviral capsids. Notably, the HTLV-1 CA proteins are highly conserved despite evolutionary divergence of the subtypes over 50,000 years ago.2 This positions the CA protein as an attractive target for peptide-based anti-HTLV-1 therapeutics. This study employs mRNA and phage display to identify cyclic peptides that bind the HTLV-1 CA protein. Potential binders may disrupt uncoating, replication, and maturation, addressing an unmet need in HTLV-1 prophylaxis and therapy.

 

  1. Tagaya, Y.; Gallo, R. C., The Exceptional Oncogenicity of HTLV-1. Front. Microbiol. 2017, 8, 1425.
  2. Yu, R.; Phalora, P.; Li, N.; Bocking, T.; Jacques, D. A., The Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Capsid Protein is a Potential Drug Target. Nat. Commun. 2025, 16, 10892.
  3. Gessain, A.; Cassar, O., Epidemiological Aspects and World Distribution of HTLV-1 Infection. Front. Microbiol. 2012, 3, 388.