title: Analysis of the clonal origins of autoantibodies against thyroglobulin and DNA in autoimmune thyroiditis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: We have analysed the isoelectric focusing (IEF) spectra of antithyroglobulin autoantibodies in the sera of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis, and of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), NZB/NZW F1 hybrid, MRL-lpr/lpr and MRL/++ male and female mice. Ninety-two per cent of patients with anti-thyroglobulin autoantibodies had a polyclonal spectrotype compared with only 25% of SLE patients analysed for anti-dsDNA. Fifty-five per cent of the latter had monoclonal spectrotypes, the remainder being either biclonal or having a dominant clone on a polyclonal background. By contrast, only two out of 61 autoimmune thyroiditis patients expressed monoclonal anti-thyroglobulin autoantibodies. All of the lupus mice had highly restricted spectrotypes (monoclonal or biclonal) of anti-dsDNA autoantibodies. The implications of these results for the aetiology of autoimmunity are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000032:analysis; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D004247:DNA / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000276:immunology*; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001323:Autoantibodies; D004247:DNA; D013954:Thyroglobulin