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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Generation of a Mouse Spontaneous Autoimmune Thyroiditis Model
Published on: March 17, 2023
Cytokines in thyroid autoimmunity
1Academic Unit of Molecular Vascular Medicine, University of Leeds, The General Infirmary at Leeds, Leeds LS1 3EX, UK. ramzi@ajjan.freeserve.co.uk
Abstract:
The role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) has been extensively investigated over the past years. In patients with ATD, these molecules can be found in both the thyroid and sites of extrathyroidal complications of the disease. Cytokines can affect the autoimmune process through a number of mechanisms including recruitment of inflammatory cells and upregulation of molecules essential for perpetuation of the inflammatory response in the affected site. In addition, cytokines can interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis, implicating them directly in thyroid dysfunction found in ATD patients. Also, these molecules can modulate the function of cells in orbital tissue, which results in localised oedema, indicating a central role for cytokines in the development of proptosis, the cardinal feature of thyroid associated ophthalmopathy.
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