The Use of Hybridoma Antibodies to Probe the Antigenic Determinants of Thyroglobulin

Abstract
Experimental autoimmune thyroiditis has provided a fruitful model for the study of human autoimmune disease and for deepening our understanding of the mechanisms of self-non-self discriminationl. The disease is produced by injection of mice (or other experimental animals) with crude mouse thyroid extract or purified mouse thyroglobulin (MTg) together with a suitable adjuvant. Injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) with MTg elicits production of autoantibodies to thyroglobulin and infiltration of the thyroid gland by lymphocytes, macrophages and other mononuclear cells; i.e., chronic thyroiditis is produced. Injection of large doses of MTg without adjuvant renders mice unresponsive to MTg, due to production of MTg-specific suppressor T cells9. Immunization with Tg under diverse conditions, therefore, may lead to autoantibodies alone, to both autoantibodies and thyroid lesions, or to suppression.

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