LYMPH-NODE CELL VACCINATION AGAINST THE LUPUS SYNDROME OF MRL LPR/LPRMICE/

Immunization with pathogenic lymphoid cells has been shown to induce r esistance to disease in experimental animal models of cell mediated au toimmunity. In the present work we tested the effectiveness of this ap proach in a spontaneous murine autoimmune disease, the MRL/lpr/lpr (MR L/1) murine lupus model. We now report that the anti-DNA antibodies an d glomerulonephritis of MRL/1 mice could be prevented by the adoptive transfer of spleen cells from MRL/+ mice that had been vaccinated with MRL/1 lymph node T lymphocytes, but not by direct vaccination of MRL/ 1 mice with their cells. These results indicate that the lupus of MRL/ 1 mice is susceptible to regulation by adoptive vaccination and that t hese autoimmune mice lack the ability to raise a suppressive response against their own pathogenic cells.