Rapid Publication: No Evidence for Association Between IDDMK_1,222, A Novel Isolated Retrovirus, and IDDM

摘要

In the past, endogenous retroviral sequences have been isolated from patients suffering from different kinds of autoimmune diseases. Recently, a full length retroviral genome, termed IDDMK_1,222, was isolated from patients with new-onset IDDM. This genome contains a major histocompatibility complex II-dependent super- antigen within its envelope gene. The viral sequence was found in ten patients with new-onset IDDM, but not in age-matched control subjects (Conrad et al. [9]). We searched for the presence of this viral genome by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reac- tion (RT-PCR) in a cohort of six patients with new- onset IDDM and six control subjects of the same age.