[Exocrinopathy resembling Sjögren's syndrome induced by a murine retrovirus]

Recently, retrovirus is suggested to participate in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome (SjS). During the course of our study on mice infected with LP-BM5 murine leukemia virus, we found SjS-like systemic exocrinopathy in those mice. This virus is known to induce murine acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (MAIDS) in sensitive strains of mice. Most cells infiltrating into the glands were composed of CD3+ T cells (CD4-dominant), Mac-1+ cells and also B220+ cells. The virus genome was detected in the submandibular glands by immunohistochemistry or by PCR and the retroviral particles were also detected by electron microscopy. This mice might become an animal model for SjS and provide us with valuable informations for analysing the mechanism of how a retrovirus could induce SjS.