A MODEL FOR THE STUDY OF AUTOIMMUNE-DISEASES APPLIED TO PEMPHIGUS - TRANSPLANTS OF HUMAN ORAL-MUCOSA TO ATHYMIC NUDE-MICE BINDS PEMPHIGUS ANTIBODIES INVIVO

[摘要] A new in vivo method to study the action of pemphigus antibodies against human tissue is described. Oral mucosal biopsies from healthy donors were transplanted to athymic nude mice, which 1 wk later, were injected with serum from pemphigus patients, from 1 to 5 days after the injection the epithelial transplants were removed; preparations were studied by immunofluorescence microscopy. Pemphigus antibodies were demonstrated in preparations from each of 23 mice which had received pemphigus serum, but in 0 of 6 which had received control serum. Transplants from about 2/3 of the experimental mice showed intercellular edema of the basal layers of the epithelium; in transplants from 3 mice supra-basilar splitting of the epithelium was found. No change was seen in the control mice. Passive transfer of human serum or lymphocytes to nude mice transplanted with human tissue may be of use in future studies of autoimmune diseases, including pemphigus.