Induction of canine autoantibody to prostatic neoantigen.

Electrodesiccation surgery of the prostate glands was completed on a total of seventy-one dogs. Disc electrophoresis, thin layer gel electrofocus and agar double diffusion studies demonstrated unique changes in the extracts of convalescent prostatic tissue that had persisted for at least 6 months when compared with pre-treatment extracts from seventeen of these dogs. The length of the period following electrodesiccation did not appear to affect the quality of the changes observed. Rabbit antisera to extracts of desiccated prostatic tissue contained antibody specific only for the autologous extract; however, cross-reactivity with altered antigen in homologous extracts could not be verified. In all dogs, generalized adverse effects were not detectable up to 16 months post-surgery.