Schematic overview of proteomic profiling for CD4⁺CD25⁺CCR4⁺ cells. PBMCs were collected from 6 normal donors, 5 asymptomatic carriers, 9 ATL patients, and 9 HAM/TSP patients, followed by isolation of the CD4⁺CD25⁺CCR4⁺ subset using the cell-sorting system. The statistical candidate selection steps, including LC/MS/MS data processing, label-free quantification, and statistical analysis, were performed on the Expressionist proteome server. The protein identification database was separately established based on 2D LC/MS/MS analysis. ND, normal donors; AC, asymptomatic carriers.