title: Thyroid growth-stimulating immunoglobulins in goitrous disease: relationship to thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins.
abstract: Thyroid growth stimulating immunoglobulins (TGI) were assayed in IgG concentrates prepared from human plasma using a cytochemical bioassay (CBA) based on the measurement of changes in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity in guinea pig thyroid follicular cells. TGI was present in all 8 patients studied who had goitrous Graves' disease, in 9 who had toxic diffuse goitres with asymmetric uptake on scintigram and/or symptomatic ophthalmopathy and in 4:8 who had toxic uninodular goitre with autonomously functioning nodules. TGI were also present in 34:54 (64%) of patients who had non-toxic goitres. In contrast, TGI were undetectable in 4 patients who had Graves' disease without palpable goitre and in all 18 euthyroid non-goitrous volunteers. Maximum increases in G6PD activity occurred at an IgG concentration of 50 micrograms/ml in all patients who had goitrous Graves' disease and in 5:7 who had diffuse non-toxic goitres. In contrast, IgG concentrates from 20:27 patients with nodular goitres caused maximum increases in G6PD activity at an IgG concentration of 500 micrograms/ml. A comparison of the prevalence of TGI with that of thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI), also measured by CBA, in 63 patients showed that although both stimulators were present in 8 patients who had goitrous Graves' disease they were only simultaneously present in 18:43 (42%) who had non-toxic goitres of various aetiologies. Thyrotrophin receptor antibodies (TRAb) were present in 11/44 (25%) of non-toxic goitrous patients but there was no significant correlation with IgG stimulators in such patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: McMullan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grubeck-Loebenstein
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: O'Donovan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000276:immunology*; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000276:immunology; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D006980:Hyperthyroidism / Q000276:immunology; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis*; D018828:Immunoglobulins, Thyroid-Stimulating; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000276:immunology; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D018828:Immunoglobulins, Thyroid-Stimulating; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin