THE PRODUCTION OF THYROIDITIS AND ANTIBODY FOLLOWING INJECTION OF UNALTERED THYROGLOBULIN WITHOUT ADJUVANT INTO RABBITS PREVIOUSLY STIMULATED WITH ALTERED THYROGLOBULIN

Abstract

Injection of rabbits with arsanil-sulfanil-thyroglobulin without adjuvant resulted in the production of hemagglutinating and precipitating antibody to native thyroglobulin and thyroiditis. Following a latent period of 1 month, these same rabbits responded to an injection of native thyroglobulin with an increase in both circulating antibody to native thyroglobulin and severity and frequency of thyroid lesions. Some rabbits initially immunized with arsanil-sulfanil-thyroglobulin also responded to a second and third monthly injection of native thyroglobulin, but the response to the third injection was usually not as good as the response to the first injection. A few of the rabbits showed a transient production of 19S antibody after the injection of native thyroglobulin was initiated. Neither circulating antibody nor thyroiditis were ever observed in rabbits injected with only native thyroglobulin without adjuvant. The correlation of the thyroiditis with the presence or absence of circulating antibody was discussed. Following a latent period after injections of aqueous arsanil-sulfanil-thyroglobulin some rabbits made a response to their own thyroglobulin released from an autotransplant of thyroid tissue.