A comparative study on the development of rabbit male accessory gland organ-specific autoantigens.

Experimental cryosurgery of rabbit male accessory glands (RMAG) induced highly specific autoantibodies. They revealed in rabbit male accessory glands the presence of autoantigens when tested by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction and passive haemagglutination test. Using the same techniques, the antisera were confronted with extracts of male accessory glands from rabbits of different ages. It was demonstrated that the autoantigens involved in both tests appear at about the age of three months. The significance of these findings in correlation with the initiation of the organ growth is discussed.