T-cell hybridomas specific for self and foreign thyroglobulins.

We have used somatic cell fusion techniques to produce and characterize murine T-cell hybridomas with specificity for self and foreign thyroglobulin (Tg). Two interleukin-2 (IL-2)-releasing I-Ak-restricted hybrid clones with specificity for self determinants on syngeneic Tg were derived from Tg-specific T-cell lines. These two autoreactive hybridomas were independently derived and were clonotypically distinct as determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism of the Ti beta-chain gene, but showed a similar pattern of cross-reactivity against rat and human (but not porcine) Tg. A third T-cell hybridoma showed a previously unknown specificity for the immunizing (non-inbred) Tg, but not for syngeneic Tg, indicating responsiveness to an allelic determinant. Although T-cell hybridization techniques have previously had only minimal application in experimental autoimmunity, this represents an approach to the study of Tg-specific T-cell responses at the molecular level.