[Antibodies to retroviral proteins in progressive scleroderma]

In 8 out of 29 patients with scleroderma we found antibodies to HIV retroviral proteins in the Western blot analysis. The sera each reacted only to one or two of the p 18, p 24, p 55, and p 65 bands, and the reactions were relatively weak. There were no evident clinical correlations with the reactivity of certain bands and signs of direct HIV infection in our patients. Apart from three cases with positive CMV reactivity (IgM) there was no cross-reactivity to HTLV I or EBV (IgM) or to topoisomerase (Scl 70) or other autoantibodies to various nuclear antigens related to scleroderma. It is not clear whether retroviruses are involved into the pathogenesis of scleroderma or whether these antibodies are due to molecular mimicry.