Pancreatic lesions induced in rabbits and guinea-pigs with pancreatic antigens.
Rabbits and guinea-pigs were immunized with various pancreatic antigens in Freund's adjuvant. Rabbits received unfractionated bovine insulin and the "A" component and "single peak" insulin separated from it by gel-filtration. All produced antibodies capable of reacting with porcine insulin but none were found to have pancreatic lesions when killed up to 6 weeks after initial injection. Guinea-pigs immunized with bovine "A" component developed pancreatic peri-ductulitis which appeared most frequently (10/20) in animals killed 30 days after a single injection and less frequently in animals killed after 60 (4/10) and 90(1/10) days. Similar lesions were found in only a small proportion of control animals (2/23) or of guinea-pigs immunized with single peak bovine insulin (3/22). Guinea-pigs immunized with homogenates of homologous and heterologous islets of Langerhans developed signs of peri-ductulitis in a high proportion of animals killed up to about 60 days after first injection (18/26). None of these animals exhibited clearly defined  signs of diabetes mellitus and the incidence of induced lesions could not be correlated with levels of circulating insulin-binding antibodies.
D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000941:Antigens; D001786:Blood Glucose; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007114:Immunization; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D008297:Male; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D000941:Antigens; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin