Human autoimmune thyroid disease: cellular and molecular aspects

We have reviewed the impact of cellular and molecular biology on our understanding of the immune system and thyroid autoimmune disease and presented the evidence that MHC, TCR and immunoglobulin genes are involved in susceptibility to such disease. At the level of the target thyroid epithelial cell, the identification of the genes for Tg and TPO (the microsomal antigen) using recombinant DNA techniques are evidence of dramatic progress. On the humoral side of the immune response, the investigation of restricted clonality is still hampered by the technical difficulties in obtaining immortal B cell lines producing thyroid antigen specific high affinity IgG antibodies, although the advent of tools to sequence the immunoglobulin V genes from small quantities of DNA will overcome this difficulty (e.g. by polymerase chain reactions). T cells have also begun to be characterized both phenotypically, thanks to the advent of ever better characterized monoclonal antibodies, and functionally at the clonal level, thanks to refinement of cell culture techniques. Future studies in this area will also need to focus on cell immortalization and maintenance of antigen-specific responses although, major strides in the direct sequencing of the TCR are taking place and investigation of T cell receptors in antigen-specific T cells should be feasible. MHC associations with thyroid autoimmune disease, as studied by analysis of RFLP patterns, have not significantly improved already established serological HLA associations and direct MHC gene sequencing will be required. Analysis of the organ-specific regulation of MHC class II gene expression has led to a better understanding of the functional role of MHC class II genes in thyroid autoimmune disease at the target cell level. Such studies have pointed out important local immune responses within the thyroid gland but have not yet provided the initiating factor or factors for human autoimmune thyroid disease in genetically susceptible individuals.