INDUCTION OF EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE SIALOADENITIS BY IMMUNIZATION OFPL J MICE WITH CARBONIC-ANHYDRASE-II/

Experimental autoimmune sialoadenitis was induced in PL/J (H-2(u)) mic e by intradermal immunization with human carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) and adjuvant containing monophosphoryl lipid A and trehalose diorynomy colate. Mice immunized with CAII showed a significant increase in the number and size of foci with lymphocytic infiltration in the salivary gland compared with mice immunized with adjuvant alone and untreated m ice. In mice immunized with CAII, lymphocytic foci were observed aroun d intercalated and intralobular ducts in the salivary glands, resultin g in atrophy and replacement of acinar units. The epithelial cells of salivary ducts adjacent to the lymphocytic foci showed both degenerati ve and regenerative changes. Similar lymphocytic infiltrations were ob served in the pancreas and kidney of a few mice immunized with CAII. A mong several mouse strains with different H-2 haplotypes (p, q, r, s, and u), strains bearing H-2(s) and H-2(u) were susceptible to CAII-ind uced sialoadenitis. These results indicate that sialoadenitis induced by the immunization of CAII in mice may serve as a disease model of Sj ogren's syndrome and that CAII or its derived peptides in association with the MHC may be one Ag recognized by an autoimmune response in thi s syndrome.