title: Relation of human T lymphotropic virus type III antibodies to T lymphocyte subset abnormalities in hemophiliac patients.
abstract: The relationship of T lymphocyte subset abnormalities and the presence of antibodies to the human T lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III) was evaluated in 66 adult patients with hemophilia. Positive test results for antibodies to HTLV-III were observed in 62 percent of patients with hemophilia A and 9 percent of patients with hemophilia B. Patients with HTLV-III antibodies had lower percentages and numbers of T helper (T4) cells and increased percentages of T suppressor (T8) cells compared with percents in patients without antibodies to HTLV-III. The mean T4/T8 ratio for antibody-negative patients was 1.45 compared with 0.65 for antibody-positive patients (p less than 0.0005). These abnormalities were more apparent among hemophiliac patients who received factor VIII concentrates. The strong association of lymphocyte subset abnormalities and seroreactivity to this virus suggests that infection by HTLV-III has occurred in this population rather than a passive exposure to viral antigens contained in factor concentrates.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005164:Factor IX / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005169:Factor VIII / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D002836:Hemophilia B / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000002:abnormalities*
chemical_list: D005169:Factor VIII; D005164:Factor IX