Prevention of myosin-induced autoimmune myocarditis in mice by anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibody.

This study was aimed at studying the effect of the induction of immune tolerance to swine cardiac myosin from anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibody injection and whether the immune tolerance could protect mice with myosin-induced myocarditis from myocardial injury. Twenty-four Balb/c mice were divided into two groups at random. All of the mice were immunized with swine cardiac myosin on the 1st day, 14th, 28th, 42nd, and 52nd day. Immune tolerance was induced by triplicate injections of 400 μg anti-L3T4 McAb on the 0 day (intravenous), 1st day, and 2nd day (intraperitoneal) in McAb-treated group. In the saline-treated group, saline of the same volume as anti-L3T4 monoclonal antibody was used as a control. The sera and hearts biopsies of all mice were collected on the 58th day. The anti-cardiac myosin antibody was examined with ELISA, and pathological changes of heart were observed by light microscope. It was shown that mice immunized with swine cardiac myosin could produce anti-myosin antibody and the anti-cardia...