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Fifteen patients affected by new-onset Graves' disease with ophthalmopathy have been examined for lymphocyte subset phenotypes by two-colour cytometric analysis. CD5+ B cells were significantly increased in comparison to the normal population (43.2 +/- 20.6% versus 19.5 +/- 6.9%; p < 0.0009); total T cells showed a normal amount (70.4 +/- 9.6%), but the levels of THLADR+ cells were significantly increased in comparison to the control group (13.7 +/- 10.5% versus 4.7 +/- 3.2%; p < 0.007). The characterization of the subset suppressor-inducer CD4+ CD45RA+, evaluated as percentage of the total CD4+ T cells, showed a significant decrease in comparison with the control group (43.8 +/- 13.5% versus 52.3 +/- 6.5%; p < 0.03). Serum immunoglobulin evaluation showed a statistically significant increase of IgM (p < 0.05) and a significant decrease of IgA (p < 0.02). A statistical correlation between IgM levels and percentage of CD5+ B cells has been found (p < 0.04). The defect of suppressor-inducer T cell subset, along with the increase of CD5+ B cells may contribute to the pathogenetic mechanism of the disease in patients with a genetically-induced aberrant immune response.

Twenty eight patients (25F, 3M) affected by autoimmune and non-autoimmune thyroid diseases were studied. HSP 70 antibodies were present in 21.4% of patients. Five of them were affected by Graves' disease and one by De Quervain's thyroiditis. The HSP 70 antibodies mean values of patients were significantly higher than the normals (p < 0.05). This datum was confirmed by Western blotting. The presence of HSP 70 antibodies in the sera of those patients may support the link between the protein and the thyroid autoimmune processes.

IgG anticardiolipin antibodies (ACL) have been shown to occur in a high proportion of women with repeated unexplained miscarriages. Forty-nine women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA), previously assayed for the presence of ACL by an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay, were typed for HLA-DR and DQ antigens by the classical microlymphocytotoxicity test. Twenty-five women were positive for ACL and 24 were negative. HLA-DR7 was found in 24.5% of 49 habitually aborting women vs. 28% of healthy controls; but the DR7 frequency was 40% in ACL positive patients vs. 8.3% in ACL negative patients (P = 0.011). These results show that in the Italian population an association between HLA-DR7 antigen and ACL is present in women with unexplained RSA, suggesting that HLA-DR genes might control the susceptibility to specific autoantibody production.

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