The exposure of autoantigenic determinants on the cell surface of murine thymocytes following neuraminidase treatment

In the present study cytotoxic autoantibodies reactive with neuraminidase treated thymus cells were found at low titers in the sera of normal mice and at higher titers in the sera of mice immunized with allogeneic spleen cells. The cytotoxic activity of these autoantibodies was practically abolished when antibody and complement were added to cell suspensions kept at 37°C or 42°C rather than at room temperature. Fractionation experiments indicated that the cytotoxic autoantibodies reactive with neuraminidase treated thymocytes, like previously studied autoantibodies, are confined to the 19S fraction.