Antigenic properties of the infarcted human myocardium.

The authors immunized rabbits with homogenized normal and infarcted human heart muscle. The specific autoantibodies were detected by means of bidimensional complement fixation, passive cutaneous anaphylaxis and double immunodiffusion tests. In the immunological reactions normal and infarcted myocardium extracts containing both sarcoplasmatic and myofibrillar proteins, respectively, were used as antigens. The antisera against infarcted heart muscle, absorbed with normal myocardial homogenate, were reactive with the sarcoplasmatic and myofibrillar extracts of the infarcted heart muscle. These experiments suggest the existence in the infarcted heart muscle of antigens which are different from those of the normal myocardium. Such antigens may play a role in the production of heart antibodies in patients suffering from some heart diseases.