Participation of auto-anti-idiotypes in immune complex glomerulonephritis in rabbits

We report the presence of auto-anti-Id antibodies in the glomerular immune deposits of a rabbit with chronic serum sickness induced by daily i.v. injections of bovine serum albumin. Auto-anti-Id antibodies were also documented in the serum of the same animal during the phase of chronic serum sickness in which immune complex glomerulonephritis develops. These results suggest that auto-anti-Id may normally participate in pathologic reactions and may be one of the mechanisms of potentiation and/or progression of immunopathologic lesions.