Experimental Production of a Thyroid-Stimulating Antithyroid Antibody

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Abstract
Immunization of rabbits with concentrated homogenate of human thyroid resulted in the appearance in the serum of a thyroid stimulator which caused release of thyroid radioiodine in the suitably prepared assay mouse. The thyroid stimulator was shown not to be thyrotropin (which theoretically might be in enhanced concentration because of thyroiditis) by the following criteria: 1. It was not significantly inhibited by antiserum to thyrotropin. 2. Its concentration in the rabbits' blood was unaffected by thyrotropin-suppressive doses of thyroxine. 3. The activity was retained in purified γ-globulin extracted from the rabbit serum. It was not, however, possible to show conclusively that the activity could be inhibited by antiserum to rabbit γ-globulin; possible explanations for this failure are discussed. Four of the immunized rabbits maintained production of the thyroid stimulator for 9 months and then had thyroid uptake of 131I which was greater than control. While their rate of release of thyroid 131I was normal, it was not suppressed by injections of thyroxine. It was concluded that an immune globulin was produced by the immunization procedure, and that it was active as a thyroid stimulator both in a mouse bioassay and endogenously in the immunized rabbit; the immune globulin may be the experimental counterpart of the long-acting thyroid stimulator of Graves' disease.

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