INTRATHYROIDAL MACROPHAGE INFILTRATION AND T CELL ACTIVATION IN AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

In thirty seven patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) intrathyroidal macrophages (M ) and activated T cells were identified by alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase (APAAP) immunocytochemical technique using monoclonal antibodies Ki-M8, TLiSA 1 and anti-Tac. Different degrees of infiltration of M (Ki-M8-) and activation of T cells (TLiSA1- or Tac-) were seen in the thyroid tissue of Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), Graves disease (GD) and Graves disease with thyroiditis(GDAT). However, there were no significant difference in proportions of the positive staining reactions among the different diseases. Staining of serial sections revealed a significant correlation between the proportions of Me and activated T cells in thyroid gland mononuclear cells (TG-MNC). It suggests that infiltration of M may have an influence on intrathyroidal T cell activation in AITD.