AIDS and autoimmunity

While much evidence appears to support the hypothesis of AIDS being an autoimmune disease, equally impressive facts negate the theory. At most, one can presently speak only of the "autoimmune features" of this very complex syndrome. AIDS most strikingly presents with various autoantibodies including those directed against both red and white blood cells. These antibodies appear to be - at least in part - responsible for some of the autoimmune features of the disease. Several clinical and serological similarities exist between AIDS and the "classic" autoimmune disease SLE. In fact, following the isolation of HIV, researchers once again began searching for a viral etiology of SLE. It appears that while autoimmune mechanisms may explain some of the clinical and serologic manifestations of the disease, not enough evidence exists as yet to decidedly point either for or against its classification as an autoimmune disease.