Sera from thirty-three female patients with interstitial cystitis were studied for the presence of antitissue antibodies and a positive result was obtained in thirty-one cases (94%). Antinuclear antibodies detected by the immunofluorescence method were found in 85% of the sera in titres of 1:10 or higher. However, the LE-cell phenomenon was not seen in a single patient. complement-fixing antibodies to crude kidney homogenate occurred in 48% of the sera. Antibodies, with an incidence not exceeding that expected in control groups, were against smooth muscle, thyroglobulin and gastric parietal cells. None of the patients had mitochondrial or thyroid cytoplasmic antibodies, rheumatoid factors or biologic false-positive reactions for syphilis.
Bladder specific antibodies could not be demonstrated by the double layer immunofluorescence method.
The results indicate that interstitial cystitis belongs to that group of autoimmune diseases in which the disease is restricted to one organ, whereas the autoantibodies are non-organ specific.