Immunochemical studies on the thyroglobulin autoantibody system in human thyroiditis.

  • 1 November 1968
    • journal article
    • Vol. 15  (5) , 681-96
Abstract
The binding of fluorescein-labelled thyroglobulin antibody from a Hashimoto patient to autologous thyroid could be completely inhibited by normal thyroglobulin showing that the autoantibody cannot detect any abnormality in the colloid protein from the diseased gland. Although a proportion of rabbit antisera to human thyroglobulin reacted with thyroxine, there was no evidence for such binding with human antibodies in the present studies. The heteroantibodies reacted almost identically with human and rhesus monkey thyroglobulin but much weaker cross-reactions were obtained with Hashimoto antibodies. This was related to the far smaller number of autoreactive determinants on the thyroglobulin molecule.