Adenovirus encoding the thyrotropin receptor A-subunit improves the efficacy of dendritic cell-induced Graves' hyperthyroidism in mice.
Stimulating the immune system by in vivo expression of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) is an efficient means to induce Graves' disease experimentally. For example, BALB/c mice injected with dendritic cells (DCs) infected with adenovirus encoding the full-length TSHR (AdTSHR) develop hyperthyroidism, albeit at a low incidence (36%). Recent observations suggest that the shed TSHR A-subunit, rather than the full-length receptor, is the autoantigen responsible for initiating/enhancing immune responses leading to thyroid stimulating antibodies (TSAb) and hyperthyroidism. Therefore, we attempted to improve the efficacy of the DC-based approach for Graves' disease using adenovirus encoding the TSHR A-subunit (AdTSHR289). Three injections of DCs infected with AdTSHR289 induced hyperthyroidism in 70% of BALB/c mice, approximately twice the disease induction rate with AdTSHR. TSAb activity was detected in most hyperthyroid mice, whereas virtually all immunized mice developed antibodies that inhibit [125I]TSH binding to the TSHR or recognize linear or conformational epitopes on the TSHR. TSHR antibodies were of IgG1 and IgG2a, indicating mixed T-helper type 1 (Th1)/Th2 immune responses. In conclusion, immunization with DC infected with adenovirus expressing the TSHR A-subunit is a highly efficient protocol to induce Graves' hyperthyroidism in BALB/c mice. This improved model will permit studies of the pathogenic role and therapeutic potential of DCs in Graves' hyperthyroidism.
Mizutori
Yumiko
Y
Department of Medical Gene Technology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
Saitoh
Ohki
O
Eguchi
Katsumi
K
Nagayama
Yuji
Y
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006980:Hyperthyroidism / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000235:genetics; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin / Q000235:genetics*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology
D021122:Protein Subunits; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin