Studies on auto-anti-idiotypic thyroid-stimulating antibodies.
We immunized rabbits with human (h) or bovine (b) thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), hTSH beta chains or human serum albumin. Serum from the rabbits was then assayed for thyroid-stimulating activity, using the thyroid-cell bioassay. Anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-ID) to monoclonal anti-TSH were detected in these rabbit antisera after removal of rheumatoid factor by absorption with IgG. Anti-ID activity was detected in the serum of the rabbits immunized with bovine TSH. Thyroid-stimulating antibody (TSI) activity, too, was most prominent in the sera obtained from bTSH-immunized rabbits. Anti-ID activity seemed to arise sooner than did TSI, but both tended to peak 3 months after an initial series of immunizations. Since thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins can develop following TSH immunization of rabbits, it is possible that a similar immunopathogenesis may be responsible for some instances of Graves' hyperthyroidism.
D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000276:immunology; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000276:immunology*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors
D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001323:Autoantibodies; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes; D013972:Thyrotropin