Immunological features of idiopathic Addison's disease: characterization of the adrenocortical antigens.

The antibodies in the sera of two patients with idiopathic Addison's disease, one reacting specifically with adrenocortical cells, the other with the various cell types which produce steroid hormones, have been found to be predominently IgG. The behaviour of the two antibodies in complement-fixation tests is in agreement with their reactivity, reported in the previous paper, in immunofluorescence tests. Cell fractionation studies suggest that both adrenal antigens are associated with the microsomal fraction. The biochemical properties of the antigens are consistent with the view that they are lipoproteins, possibly with associated carbohydrate. While the properties of the adrenal antigens are generally similar to those of the thyroid and gastric parietal cell organ-specific autoantigens, they differ from these, and from each other, in their susceptibility to destruction by certain enzymes and chemical treatments.