Autoimmune antibodies after splenectomy.

Sera of 41 splenectomized subjects were tested for presence of autoantibodies by the indirect immunofluorescent method. 11 of them (26%) revealed the presence of one or more types of autoantibodies. Antiheart antibodies were the most common type (9 subjects). The incidence of antibodies was higher in the subjects splenectomized for trauma than in those who underwent elective splenectomy (39 and 25%, respectively). There was no significant difference between the subjects with positive and negative results with respect to mean age at examination, but the positive results tend to occur more frequently in those who underwent splenectomy at younger age. None of the subjects with any type of antibodies suffered from autoimmune disease. Although it is still impossible to evaluate the clinical importance of these findings, they suggest that splenectomy may disturb the regulatory processes in the immune system. We postulate that this is due to the reduction of the number of suppressor T cells for which the spleen is a major pool.