DEMONSTRATION OF CIRCULATING ANTIBODIES TO NEUROPHYSIN IN PATIENTS TREATED WITH PITRESSIN

Abstract Commercially produced Pitressin (Parke Davis and Co.), used in the treatment of diabetes insipidus, is prepared from bovine and porcine posterior pituitary tissue and contains a variable amount of peptide material in addition to vasopressin. It would be expected to contain neurophysin (Acher & Fromageot, 1955) since this is the major protein constituent of the posterior pituitary. Neurophysin is considered to function as a binding protein for oxytocin and vasopressin, which are found in association with it, both in the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary gland. It is known that nasal insufflation of 'pituitary snuff' (acetone-dried posterior pituitary tissue) can result in the production of antibodies to its protein constituents (Pepys, Jenkins, Lachman & Mahon, 1965; Mahon, Scott, Ansell, Manson & Fraser, 1967). However, when more purified preparations are used, hypersensitivity reactions are uncommon. In rare cases, antibodies to vasopressin itself have been present after treatment with Pitressin (Roth, Glick,