Antibodies to human T cell leukemia virus are absent in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

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Abstract
It has been anticipated that type C oncornaviruses, which participate in the pathogenesis of murine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), would be found to have a role in the development of SLE in humans. In studies of tissues from SLE patients, type C–related proteins have been identified. Using information obtained on the recent isolation of the human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV), together with that from studies of murine SLE, we attempted to clarify the role of antibodies to HTLV in the pathogenesis of human SLE. Using a solid‐phase enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic techniques, we were unable to find evidence of the participation of antibodies to HTLV proteins in the development of human SLE.