[Antibodies reacting with the antigens of the human immunodeficiency virus in systemic lupus erythematosus].

A study was made of the level of anti-HTLV-111 using an enzyme immunoassay (Emzygnost-anti-HTLV-111) in 75 donors and 143 patients with various diseases including SLE (57), rheumatoid arthritis (9), Sjögren's disease (3), Bekhterev's disease (2), polymyositis (2), dilatation cardiomyopathy (30), and acute lymphocytic leukemia (40). Anti-HTLV-111 were detected in 26 SLE patients and in one patient with polymyositis. A study of positive sera using immunoblotting showed no interaction with virus antigens. A conclusion was made that the detection of anti-HTLV-111 in systemic rheumatoid diseases was a false-positive result.