Antitubulin antibody in healthy adults and patients with infectious mononucleosis and its relationship to smooth muscle antibody (SMA).

Antibody to tubulin in man has been studied using a specific radioimmunoassay, affinity chromatography radioimmunoassay but markedly increased levels were noted in patients with infectious mononucleosis where the antibody was predominantly IgM in type. This finding was confirmed on fluorescence microscopy. Affinity chromatography purified antibody produced characteristic microtubular staining of fixed 3T3 cells, but in addition, produced weak staining of cryostat sections of rat tissue, similar in distribution to that of smooth muscle antibody. Our studies indicate that the IgM smooth muscle antibody found in infectious mononucleosis by IF techniques is at least in part due to an antitubulin antibody.