Suppression of murine lupus autoantibodies to DNA by administration of muramyl dipeptide and syngeneic anti-DNA IgG.

We evaluated the effect of repeated subcutaneous administration of syngeneic anti-DNA IgG and muramyl dipeptide, a synthetic immunoadjuvant, to 6-mo-old (NZB X NZW)F1 female mice. This treatment had profound effects on both idiotype expression and anti-DNA antibody levels of morbid mice. It was also associated with appearance of anti-idiotypic antibodies specific for the injected antibody. These findings suggest that this approach with the use of synthetic immunomodulators and syngeneic antibodies may be of potential use in the management of autoimmune diseases.