Biological activity of anti‐thyrotropin anti‐idiotypic antibody

Abstract
Rabbit anti-rat anti-human thyrotropin anti-idiotypic antibodies have been raised. These antibodies were active at the thyrotropin (TSH) receptor, in that they inhibited 125I-labeled bovine TSH binding to thyroid plasma membranes, stimulated adenylate cyclase activity through a guanyl nucleotide-dependent mechanism, augmented radioiodide transport into isolated porcine thyroid follicular cells and induced such cultured cells to organize into follicles. Aside from substantiating the expectation that anti-hormone anti-idiotypic antibodies may possess properties of the original hormone, this work raised the possibility that thyroid-stimulating antibodies which cause the hyperthyroidism of Graves' disease may be anti-TSH anti-idiotypic antibodies.

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