Autoimmune murine thyroiditis relation to histocompatibility (H-2) type.

Immunization of 33 inbred strains of mice with thyroid extract emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant showed differences in both thyroid autoantibody response and autoimmune thyroid damage, related to the histocompatibility (H-2) type of the strain. Congenic mice of the same H-2 type exhibited the same pattern of antibody response and thyroiditis, regardless of the strain's genetic background, thus showing a close relation between histocompatibility determinants and autoimmunity.