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Isoantigens of Thyroglobulin and Their Significance in Experimental Autoimmune Thyroiditis¹

From the Department of Experimental Pathology, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, California 92037

Abstract

Isoantibodies and isoantigens of bovine thyroglobulin were demonstrated in the present experiments. Isoantibodies to bovine thyroglobulin were easily detected in rabbits rendered unresponsive to bovine thyroglobulin obtained from a single gland and then injected with pooled arsanil-sulfanil bovine thyroglobulin prepared from glands obtained from numerous animals. Sera from such animals contained precipitating and hemagglutinating antibodies to both the tolerated bovine thyroglobulin and pooled (unaltered) bovine thyroglobulin. After absorption of the sera with the tolerated thyroglobulin, the sera no longer reacted with the tolerated thyroglobulin but still reacted with the pooled thyroglobulin. In contrast to rabbits made unresponsive to an individual thyroglobulin, rabbits unresponsive to pooled bovine thyroglobulin did not lose their unresponsive state following injections of pooled arsanil-sulfanil bovine thyroglobulin.

The role of isoantigens in experimental thyroiditis is discussed. It appears that isoantigens of thyroglobulin are involved in the termination of a natural unresponsiveness to autologous thyroglobulin with production of autoimmune thyroiditis following injections of altered homologous thyroglobulin.

Footnotes

Publication No. 288 from the Department of Experimental Pathology, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. This work was supported by United States Public Health Service Grant AI 07007-02 and AEC Contract AT(04-3)-410.

² Supported by a fellowship from the Arthritis Foundation.

³ Supported by United States Public Health Service Research Career Award 5-K6-GM-6936.