Transfer of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis to normal syngeneic mice by injection of mouse thyroglobulin-sensitized T lymphocytes after activation with concanavalin A.

Induction of autoimmune thyroiditis in normal syngeneic CBA/J mice was achieved by injection of 72-hr concanavalin A (Con A)-induced lymphoblasts from donor mice which had been immunized with mouse thyroglobulin (MTg) emulsified with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Injection of lymph node or spleen cells, or frequent injection of serum taken from mice with autoimmune thyroiditis failed to transfer appreciable thyroiditis to recipient mice. Selection by treatment of incubated cells with monoclonal antibody and complement revealed that effector cells in Con A-induced lymphoblast populations for the transfer of autoimmune thyroiditis were Thy-1.2+, Lyt-1.1+, and Lyt-2.1- lymphocytes. These results demonstrate that experimental autoimmune thyroiditis can be adoptively transferred into naive mice by activated Thy-1+, Lyt-2- lymphoblasts.