Autoantibodies to cryptic epitopes elicited by infection with lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus

Lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) produces a permanent infection in mice with a B-lymphocyte polyclonal activation leading to hypergammaglob ulinaemia. Since LDV specifically suppressed antibodies to native epitopes in CBA/Ht, but not BALB/c, mice immunized against a protein antigen, we exp lored the relationship between such a change in antibody specificity and th e expression of autoantibodies under the influence of LDV. Again in CBA/Ht, but not BALB/c, mice we observed another effect of LDV: the sera from infe cted CBA/Ht mice were found by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay to contain antibodies to various mouse tissue extracts. Immunoblots revealed a large spectrum of autoantigens that differed markedly between animals. Western-bl ot competition experiments showed that the protein autoantigens had to be d enatured to react with most of the autoantibodies. Despite the presence of these autoantibodies directed to cryptic epitopes, no specific tissue lesio ns could be ascribed to the autoimmune response elicited by LDV infection, since both mouse strains showed mild inflammatory reactions in liver and ki dney.