Imbalance of Th_1/Th_2 cells in thyroid tissues of patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the role of the imbalance of Th 1/Th 2 cells in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). Methods Thirteen patients with Graves′ disease (GD), 12 patients with Hashimoto′s thyroiditis (HT) were recruited for the study, and 8 patients with non-toxic nodular goiter served as controls. The expressions of interferon-? (IFN-?) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) of intrathyroidal mononuclear cells (ITMC), representative cytokines of Th 1 and Th 2 cells respectively, were assayed by immunohistochemical technique. Thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb), thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) and thyroid microsome antibody (TMAb) in peripheral blood were detected by routine methods, and their correlations with the IFN-? and IL-4 were analyzed. Results (1) Compared with the controls, the IL-4 and IFN-? expressions of ITMC in GD and HT patients were remarkably increased (both P