Studies of the induction of anti-DNA in normal mice.

Injection of PBA has previously been demonstrated to induce anti-DNA. In the present study, we found that the combination of neonatal thymectomy and chronic administration of PBA (LPS + poly rI . rC) led to significantly higher anti-DNA levels than either PBA or thymectomy separately. These results suggested that a thymic regulatory process normally serves to suppress anti-DNA after chronic PBA exposure. Indeed, antigen-nonspecific suppressor function was found to be deficient in such thymectomy + PBA-treated mice. In addition, the cells of such mice in vitro interfered with the development of normal suppressor function by control cells.