Specificity of anti-nuclear antibodies induced in F1 mice undergoing the graft-vs-host reaction: isotypes and cross-reactivities.

(C57BL/6 X DBA/2)F1 mice undergoing the graft-vs-host reaction (GVHR) produce autoantibodies after the injection of DBA/2 lymphoid cells. The anti-nuclear antibodies, including anti-poly (ADP-ribose) and anti-extractable nuclear antigens (ENA), in the sera of the autoimmune GVH F1 mice were investigated. Antibodies to double-stranded DNA, single-stranded DNA and ENA were predominantly IgG. In contrast, the autoantibodies to poly(ADP-ribose) were both IgG and IgM, although the former was predominant. These autoantibodies induced by the GVHR showed similar cross-reactivities with a number of nucleic acids to the monoclonal and some serum antinuclear antibodies derived from mice or humans with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These results support the idea that GVH F1 mice are a good model of human SLE.