In vitro immune aggression against rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells.

Rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells cultivated with certain antisera underwent growth changes and necrosis. These cytotoxic antisera were obtained by immunizing rabbits against rat aorta, human or pig aortic glycoproteins, human serum glycoproteins and E. coli lipopolysaccharide. These different antigens share some biochemical characteristics, and contain four main amino acid residues (Glu, Ala, Asp, Gly) and four sugars (mannose, galactose, glucose, N-acetyl glucosamine). The cytolytic properties of these antisera, however, probably correspond to structural analogies, since although ovalbumin is a glycoprotein, anti-ovalbumin antiserum was not cytotoxic. Antibody cytotoxicity against rabbit arterial smooth muscle cells may depend on the biochemical structure of the antigen used to produce antiserum.