title: Thyroid dysfunction: an autoimmune aspect.
abstract: Auto immune thyroid disease (AITD) is the common organ specific autoimmune disorder, Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) and Grave's disease (GD) are its well-known sequelae. It occurs due to loss of tolerance to autoantigens thyroid peroxidase (TPO), thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSH-R) which leads to the infiltration of the gland. T cells in chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (cAIT) induce apoptosis in thyroid follicular cells and cause destruction of the gland. Presences of TPO antibodies are common in HT and GD, while Tg has been reported as an independent predictor of thyroid malignancy. Cytokines are small proteins play an important role in autoimmunity, by stimulating B and T cells. Various cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, TNF-α and IFN-γ are found in thyroid follicular cells which enhance inflammatory response with nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University Riyadh, K.S.A.
authors.forename: Farah Aziz
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University Riyadh, K.S.A.
authors.forename: Noura
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Jameil
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University Riyadh, K.S.A.
authors.forename: Mohammad Fareed
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University Riyadh, K.S.A.
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Rashid
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University Riyadh, K.S.A.
authors.forename: Hajera
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tabassum
keywords: Autoimmunity; antibody; cytokines; lymphocytes; thyroglobulin; thyroid peroxidase