Antibodies to Retroviral Proteins and Reverse Transcriptase Activity in Patients With Essential Cryoglobulinemia

Abstract
Human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) gag and env protein–specific antibodies were identified in 6 of 13 patients with essential cryoglobulinemia (EC), by Western blot and radioimmunoprecipitation analysis. Supernatants of cells from 2 of the 5 EC patients tested showed reverse transcriptase activity. DNA sequences homologous to HTLV-I could not be detected by polymerase chain reaction, thus excluding the presence of prototype HTLV-I in each patient with EC. The data suggest that retroviral proteins distinct from but related to HTLV-I may be involved in the pathogenesis of EC in some patients.

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