Differences of the Structure of Immune Regulatory Cell Populations between Cellular Material from Sonographically Detected Focal Thyroid Lesions and Peripheral Blood in Humans

Abstract

Focal thyroid lesions are common ultrasound findings with the estimated prevalence up to 67% of the population. They form characteristically enveloped regions with individual encapsulated microenvironment that may involve the specific distribution of immune system compounds—especially antigen presenting cells (APC). We analyzed and compared the most potent APC—plasmacytoid and conventional dendritic cells (DCs) subpopulations and three monocyte subpopulations as well as other immune cells—in peripheral blood and local blood of thyroid gland obtained parallelly in patients with focal thyroid lesions using flow cytometry. The analysis revealed significant differences in the distribution of main subsets of assessed cells between peripheral blood and biopsy material. The results support the existence of local, organ-specific immune reaction control networks within thyroid nodules.

Toll-Like Receptors-2 and -4 in Graves’ Disease—Key Players or Bystanders?

“…It may occur in genetically predisposed individuals who are exposed to certain exogenous factors, such as iodine, selenium, smoking, bacterial and viral infections, allergies, radiotherapy or emotional stress. Endogenous factors such as age, sex, pregnancy, hormones and birth weight are also important [1,2,3,4]. GD develops due to a loss of immunological tolerance and reactivity to thyroid autoantigens, mainly directed against the thyrotropin receptor.…”

“…GD develops due to a loss of immunological tolerance and reactivity to thyroid autoantigens, mainly directed against the thyrotropin receptor. This leads to the infiltration of this gland by T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes that produce antibodies specific for this disease entity, with a clinical manifestation of hyperthyroidism in the form of GD [1,2,3,4]. Recent studies have confirmed the importance of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and proinflammatory cytokines in the etiopathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.…”

“…They participate in the induction and effector phase of the immune and inflammatory response, thus playing a key role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Within inflammatory cells and the thyroid, follicular cells increasing expression of many cytokines has been detected, including interleukin (IL)-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-14, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) [1,3,4,5]. Studies have shown that gene polymorphisms for cytokines or their abnormal secretion may not only increase the risk of developing GD but may also affect the course of the disease and prognosis [6].…”