title: The increased but non-predominant expression of Th17- and Th1-specific cytokines in Hashimoto's thyroiditis but not in Graves' disease.
abstract: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is considered to be mediated mainly by Th1 cells, but it is not known whether Graves' disease (GD) is associated with Th1 or Th2 predominance. Th17 cells, a novel subset of Th cells, play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of various autoimmune disorders. In the present study, the expression of IL-17A and IFN-γ was investigated in patients with HT or GD. mRNA expression of IL-17A and IFN-γ in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 43 patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and in thyroid tissues from 40 AITD patients were measured by real-time qRT-PCR. The protein expression of IL-17A and IL-23p19 was examined by immunohistochemistry in thyroid tissues from 28 AITD patients. The mRNA levels of IL-17A and IFN-γ were higher in both PBMC and thyroid tissues of HT patients than in controls (mRNA levels are reported as the cytokine/β-actin ratio: IL-17 = 13.58- and 2.88-fold change and IFN-γ = 16.54- and 2.74-fold change, respectively, P < 0.05). Also, the mRNA levels of IL-17A and IFN-γ did not differ significantly in GD patients (P > 0.05). The high protein expression of IL-17A (IOD = 15.17 ± 4.8) and IL-23p19 (IOD = 16.84 ± 7.87) in HT was confirmed by immunohistochemistry (P < 0.05). The similar high levels of IL-17A and IFN-γ suggest a mixed response of Th17 and Th1 in HT, where both cells may play important roles in the destruction procedure by cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Center, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Qiu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Madhu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Jin-an
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D020381:Interleukin-17; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007371:Interferon-gamma