ABSTRACT
Attempts to regulate the production of autoantibodies expressing cross-reacting Id (CRI) have been made in several animal models of autoimmunity. Experimentally induced or spontaneously occurring autoimmune responses have both been used. Id shared by the majority of antibodies to one antigen — CRI — usually are dominant, in a quantitative sense, within that immune response. Id which primarily regulate — regulatory Id (Rei) — are not necessarily dominant in the serum of immunized organisms. The dynamics of the autoimmune network are subjected to regulation by nominal au-toantigens, Id, and anti-Id. While the role of self-antigens in the induction of autoreactivity or establishment of tolerance has been extensively studied, little is known about the functional role exerted by Id and their complementary anti-Id in each instance. Based on the observation that perturbation of the autoimmune network by anti-Rel can elude natural self-tolerance, preimmunization with anti-Rel antibodies should also modify the outcome of the autoimmune response induced by nominal antigen.
