Thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase share common epitopes recognized by autoantibodies in patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis.

Monoclonal antibodies specific for human thyroid peroxidase (TPO) were prepared by the hybridoma technique using hyperimmune spleen cells from mice immunized with TPO purified from thyroid glands from patients with Graves' disease. Use of the microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method revealed that some of the monoclonal antibodies cross-reacted strongly with human thyroglobulin (Tg). Conversely, monoclonal anti-Tg antibodies cross-reacted with TPO, albeit to a lesser degree. Some anti-Tg autoantibodies in serum from patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis purified by Tg affinity chromatography bound TPO, and such binding was completely inhibited by Tg. Western blotting experiments revealed that thyroid microsomal 103K proteins recognized by mouse monoclonal and polyclonal anti-TPO antibodies were recognized by some monoclonal anti-Tg antibodies and anti-Tg autoantibodies, and conversely, that 19S Tg was recognized by some monoclonal anti-TPO antibodies. TPO was immunoprecipitated by anti-Tg autoantibodies isolated by Tg affinity chromatography. On the other hand, the specificity for TPO of the anti-Tg autoantibodies was not identical with that of anti-TPO autoantibodies. These cross-reactivities were not due to contamination of TPO with Tg or vice versa, or to contamination of the anti-Tg autoantibody preparations with anti-TPO autoantibodies. Taken together, these data indicate that Tg and TPO share common antigenic determinants and that some of those determinants are recognized by autoantibodies in the serum of patients with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis.