When correlations were examined between HTLV-1 proviral load and the percentage of T lymphocytes expressing CD45RO, CD45RA, or HLA-DR in the HTLV-1 infected patients with RA or connective tissue disease (Figure 2), HTLV-1 proviral load correlated positively with the percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing CD45RO and negatively with that of CD4+ T cells expressing CD45RA (P = 0.039 and P = 0.021, Spearman test). The gene discussed is CD4; the disease is connective tissue disorder.