Abstract
Objective To investigate the expression of connexin (Cx) 43, Cx26 gene in the thyroid tissue in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD).Methods The thyroid tissue specimens of 76 cases were selected, including 30 cases of Graves disease (GD group), 30 cases of Hashimoto thyroiditis( HT group ), and 16 cases of normal tissues from thyroid adenoma (control group), which were all confirmed by pathologic diagnosis.The expression of Cx43 and Cx26 mRNA among three groups was determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and GAPDH,which was used as the internal control.Results The staining of Cx43 and Cx26 mRNA in all the cases from human thyroid tissue were strongly positive.The expression levels of Cx43,Cx26 mRNA in GD group were significantly higher than those in control group (0.9307 ± 0.0716 vs.0.5938 ± 0.0484 and 0.7371 ± 0.0463 vs.0.3431 ± 0.0399 ) (P ＜ 0.01 ).And the expression levels of Cx43,Cx26 mRNA in HT group were significantly lower than those in control group (0.3581 ±0.0458 vs.0.5938 ±0.0484 and 0.3150 ±0.0218 vs.0.3431 ±0.0399)(P＜0.01 or ＜0.05).Conclusion The Cx43 and Cx26 mRNA expression in the human thyroid tissue and a remarkable deferral expressions of Cx43 and Cx26 mRNA in three groups of AITD suggests that gap junction is associated with AITD. Key words: Graves disease; Hashimoto disease; Autoimmunity; Connexins; Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
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