Search for retrovirus expression in men--failure to demonstrate retrovirus-specific antigens in normal and malignant tissue.

Extracts for different normal and malignant human tissues were checked for retrovirus antigens by Sepharose bead immuno-fluorescence assay. No convincing evidence could be obtained for the presence of type D and mammalian type C virus antigens in the tissues tested by three different immunoassays. It is concluded from these results that such viruses have no ubiquitous distribution in human beings.