Incidence of immune complex nephritis following active immunisation with a testosterone-3-BSA conjugate or BSA alone.
Before immunisation with hormones can be applied in therapeutic medicine, the possible immunological side effects should be investigated. Therefore the kidneys of 20 rabbits immunised with testosterone-BSA conjugates were examined 4 to 30 weeks after immunisation for the presence of immune complex precipitation and glomerulonephritis. Eighty-five per cent showed differing degrees of precipitation and 50% had an exudative glomerulonephritis. None of the kidneys from normal control rabbits or those immunised with complete Freund's adjuvant or BSA showed any signs of immune complex precipitation, although high anti-BSA titres were present in the BSA-immunised animals (1/3000--1/25,000). BSA antibodies could not be detected in the rabbits immunised with testosterone-3-BSA. In the light of these findings active immunisation with steroid-BSA conjugates would not be advisable as a means of therapy.
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000276:immunology*; D007114:Immunization; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000276:immunology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000276:immunology*
D000906:Antibodies; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D013739:Testosterone