A search for viruses and mycoplasmas in connective tissue diseases

Taking advantage of the distinctive buoyant densities of viral and mycoplasmal nucleic acids, methods were developed for detecting a noncytolytic virus or mycoplasma in synovial cell cultures. No evidence of viral or mycoplasmal infection was found in the study of 20 cell strains derived from 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 3 patients with noninflammatory joint disease, and one patient each with Reiter's syndrome, Behcet's syndrome, vasculitis with hepatitis 6 antigenemia, and ankylosing spondylitis with peripheral arthritis. Further, neither the treatment of synovial‐VERO cocultured cells with 5‐iodo‐2'‐deoxyuridine in dimethyl sulfoxide nor radiolabeling at the time of explanation permitted the detection of a virus or mycoplasma.