Autoimmunity induced by HgCl2 in Brown-Norway rats. I. Production of monoclonal antibodies.

Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) induces in Brown-Norway rats (BN) a B cell polyclonal activation resulting in autoimmune disease. Spleen cells from BN rats injected with HgCl2 were fused with IR983F, a nonsecreting rat myeloma cell line, in order to obtain monoclonal antibodies reacting with autoantigens or IgE-producing hybridomas. After screening for immunoglobulin-producing clones, we found 5% clones with anti-tissue activity, 8% with anti-TNP activity, and 41% secreting IgE. Among the anti-tissue monoclonal antibodies, one recognizes both TNP and mesangial structures of rat normal glomeruli, which could be an as yet unrecognized mechanism of nephrotoxicity. These experiments 1) confirm that HgCl2 induces polyclonal activation, 2) show that the mercury model is of interest to obtain monoclonal IgE and various autoantibodies, and 3) suggest a new possible mechanism of antibody-mediated renal injury.