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The autoantigens of rat male accessory glands were isolated by a short procedure which involved 1) immunization of rats with chemically modified rat male accessory glands' saline extract; 2) purification of immunoglobulin G (IgG) from the autoantisera by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50;3) coupling of rat IgG anti-rat male accessory glands with 4-B activated Sepharose; 4) addition of rat male accessory glands' saline extract and removal of autoantigens by glycine-HCl, pH 2.9. The purity of the eluted autoantigens was determined by polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis (PAGE). These components retained their immunologic activity as demonstrated by inhibition of tanned cell hemagglutination and double immunodiffusion gel precipitation.

Pretreatment of rats with low doses of purified fraction of rat male accessory glands (containing the autoantigen) markedly reduced the immune response to autoantigen when animals were subsequently challenged with modified rat male accessory glands in complete Freund's adjuvant. The rats pretreated with low doses of antigen prior to immunization showed marked suppression of delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction (P less than 0.001) when compared to control animals (pretreated with rat lung saline extract or 0.15 M NaCl). There was also enhancement of migration of macrophages in test male rats, whereas the migration was inhibited in control male rats (P less than 0.01). The stimulation of migration found in the male rats in which the response was inhibited would suggest the presence of a migration stimulation factor, which is considered a marker of suppressor cell activity. Humoral immunity was also reduced. Pretreatment of rats with low doses of the antigen markedly reduced the immune response, probably because of the induction of suppressor cells.

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