[Antithyroglobulin antibodies and autoimmune thyroiditis in man].

The pathogenic mechanisms responsible for the induction of autoimmune thyroiditis in humans may include the participation of specific antibodies against thyroid antigens. Based on this idea, blood donors were randomly selected from a Hospital and the presence of antibodies against human thyroglobulin in their blood sera was determined. The antibody titer was determined by the micro-method of passive hemagglutination and the resistance to reduction with 2-Mercaptoethanol, tested in the same way. It was found that 11.8% of the normal sera gave positive titers, some of them as high as Log2 11. All positive sera were resistant to 2-Mercaptoethanol. Their possible role in the generation of tissue damage is discussed.