γδ Τ cells enhance B cells for antibody production in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and retinoic acid induces apoptosis of the γδ Τ cell

Abstract

TCR γδ(+) Τ cells are important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. This study investigated the effect of γδ T cells on autoantibody production in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). A total of 148 subjects were enrolled, including 99 patients with HT, 5 with simple goiters, and 44 healthy controls. Peripheral blood and thyroid mononuclear cells were subjected to flow cytometric analysis. Thyroid tissues underwent immunofluorescent staining and immunohistochemistry for γδ T cells and anti-thyroid antibody detection. Antibody production was measured by ELISA and automated chemiluminescent immunoassays. And activation and apoptosis of peripheral blood γδT cells and B cells were measured by flow cytometric analysis. The percentage of γδ T cells were greater in thyroid tissue from HT patients than that of goiter patients (n = 5, 5.33 ± 1.20 vs. 2.07 ± 0.44 %; P < 0.05), with the Vδ1(+) γδ T cell subset especially dominant. Frequencies of CD69 (8.42 ± 1.08 vs. 1.60 ± 0.38 %, P < 0.001), HLA-DR (58.12 ± 6.36 vs. 37.82 ± 3.70 %, P < 0.05), CD40L (1.58 ± 0.35 vs. 0.15 ± 0.05 %, P < 0.01), and ICOS (2.78 ± 0.66 vs. 0.28 ± 0.13 %, P < 0.01) expressed on γδ T cells from HT patients (n = 19) were significantly increased compared with those of healthy controls (n = 15). More importantly, γδ T cells from HT patients enhanced B cells for antibody production, and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) treatment inhibited the effect by inducing apoptosis of γδ Τ cells. γδ Τ cells appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of HT, and ATRA might be an effective regulator for HT patients.

Increased Interleukin-23 in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Disease Induces Autophagy Suppression and Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation

“…Thyroid glands were obtained from 10 patients with HT (10 females, aged 34–61; mean age 48.1 ± 2.9 years) who underwent a thyroidectomy. An HT diagnosis was made based on clinical evaluations and Japanese guidelines as described previously ( 3 , 42 ). All patients were not taking any anti-cytokine therapy and other drugs affecting thyroid function at the time of sampling.…”

“…Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most common organ-specific autoimmune diseases and is induced by the loss of immune tolerance for the thyroid gland ( 1 ). It is characterized by diffuse infiltration of the thyroid by lymphocytes, destruction of the thyroid gland structure, and autoantibody production ( 2 , 3 ). However, this needs to be further explored, as HT remains a widespread and multifaceted disease of unknown pathogenesis.…”

Aberrant MRP14 expression in thyroid follicular cells mediates chemokine secretion through the IL-1β/MAPK pathway in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

“…Thyroid glands were obtained from 6 patients with HT who underwent thyroidectomy. HT diagnosis was made based on clinical evaluations and Japanese guidelines as described previously ( 24 , 25 ). Thyroid tissues from 5 patients with a simple goitre were used as controls based on clinical evaluations and laboratory findings.…”

Caveolin-1 regulates autophagy activity in thyroid follicular cells and is involved in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis disease

“…Specimens of thyroid tissues were obtained from five patients with HT who underwent thyroidectomy and five multinodular goiters used as controls based on documented clinical evaluations. The diagnoses of HT were based on clinical criteria and Japanese guidelines as described previously [25,26]. All samples were confirmed by pathology obtained in accordance with the regulations and approval of the Institutional Review Board of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, shown in the Supplemental file.…”