Antigen specific immune response potential and HLA typing of Israeli patients with thyroid autoimmune diseases (TAD)

The immune response potential to the synthetic polypeptide antigen (T,G)-A--L was studied in 35 patients with thyroid autoimmune diseases (TAD). For this purpose the ability of their antigen activated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to generate a (T,G)-A--L specific helper factor was tested. In addition, the patients were typed for their HLA determinants. The results of the study have shown that 20/35 (57%) patients responded to (T,G)-A--L, a similar proportion to that found among healthy donors that were tested as control. No significant difference was found in the rate of responses between patients with Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The responses in these groups of patients were shown to be 13/22 (59%) and 7/13 (54%) respectively. HLA typing of 26 patients with TAD did not demonstrate any association of the disease or the immune response potential with any specific HLA determinant. It is proposed that unlike the general lack of regulation that we have previously observed in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, the abnormal autoimmune reaction in TAD and probably in other organ-specific autoimmune diseases, is towards a specific organ without affecting other arms and functions of the immune system.