Hetero-organic thymus antigens.

The use of sera containing antibodies to tissue-specific antigens of highly specialized organs (skeletal muscles, heart, skin, excretory glands) enabled us to detect, by immunofluorescence, cells capable of synthesizing analogous antigens (i.e. hetero-organic thymus antigens) in human and animal thymus. Detection of hetero-organic antigens in the thymus is the basis for the hypothesis that natural immunological tolerance to tissue self antigens is formed within the thymus in the course of T-lymphocyte maturation, with thymus antigens taking part in the process.