Autoregulation of autoantibody synthesis in mercuric chloride nephritis in the Brown Norway rat. I. A role for T suppressor cells.

Mercuric chloride injections in the Brown Norway rat induce the transient formation of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) autoantibodies. Transfer of spleen cells from convalescent animals, after circulating anti-GBM autoantibodies are no longer detectable, inhibits reinduction of the disease by HgCl2 in naive recipients. This inhibition is significantly less when the T suppressor cell population is depleted by the monoclonal antibody, MRC OX8 , before transfer. Our studies suggest a role for T suppressor cells in autoregulation in this animal model of autoimmune nephritis and may form a basis for the design of specific therapy for anti-GBM disease in man.