title: Levels of cytokines and thyroid autoantibodies in Omani patients with Graves' disease.
abstract: An altered balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroiditis. The aim of the present study is to assess the cytokine and autoantibody profiles in Omani patients with Graves' disease (GD). Cytokines and autoantibodies including interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, interferon (IFN)gamma, thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRA) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO) are measured in GD patients (n=59) before treatment (n=23) and after treatment (n=36) with 131I-labelled iodine, and compared with normal controls (n=20). Patients with GD showed comparable serum levels of IL-2 but significantly higher levels of IL-4, TNFalpha, IFNgamma, TRA and TPO, compared with the normal controls. There was also a significant increase in serum levels of IL-4 and TNFalpha, and a decrease in TRA in the treated group, compared to the untreated group. IL-4, TNFalpha, IFNgamma, TRA and TPO showed a high prevalence in Omani patients with GD. Thus, cytokines and autoantibodies may prove useful in the diagnosis of GD and in assessing prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology/Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 35, Al-Khod 123, Sultanate of Oman. aalwan@squ.edu.om
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alnaqdy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Maskari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009850:Oman; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests / Q000379:methods; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines