Infectivity and insertional mutagenesis of endogenous retrovirus in autoimmune NZB and B/W mice.

Murine leukaemia virus has been suggested to contribute to both autoimmune disease and leukaemia in the NZB mouse and in the (NZB × NZW) F1 (abbreviated B/W) mouse. However, with apparently only xenotropic but no ecotropic virus constitutively expressed in these mice, few mechanisms could explain the aetiology of either disease in either mouse strain. Because pseudotyped and/or inducible ecotropic virus may play a role, we surveyed the ability of murine leukaemia virus in NZB, NZW and B/W mice to infect and form a provirus.

Introduction: mechanisms of tissue injury in autoimmune diseases.

This issue of Seminars in Immunopathology is devoted to the most recent developments in our understanding of the mechanisms leading to tissue injury in autoimmune diseases. These include rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, type I diabetes, autoimmune liver diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune skin diseases, autoimmune uveitis, and autoinflammatory diseases. This impressive account of basic and clinical research in a wide spectrum of immunological disorders provides the reader with a comprehensive view of the common and unique features of these diverse conditions.