IMMUNOLOGICAL AND GENETIC MARKERS IN A FAMILY WITH HASHIMOTO'S DISEASE

Abstract

A family with Hashimoto's disease in three generations is described. Seven persons (all female) had Hashimoto's disease was the only thyroid disorder occurring in this family; no other autoimmune disease was observed. Circulating thyroid antibodies were detected in all seven subjects with overt thyroiditis in this family. Thyroid antibodies were also detected in low titres in about half of the healthy relatives. Evidence of thyroid antigen-directed cell-mediated immunity was demonstrated using the leucocyte migration inhibition test in four out of seven subejcts with thyroiditis and also in about half of the relatives without clinical thyroid disease. The relative number of thyroglobulin-binding circulating lymphocytes was elevated in six subjects with Hashimoto's disease. Again, the percentage of such cells was also increased in about half of the 'healthy' relatives. Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins were detected by the radioreceptor assay in three of the seven subjects with Hashimoto's disease and in four out of thirteen relatives without overt signs of thyroiditis. In conclusion, all subjects with Hashimoto's disease carried immunological markers of autoimmune thyroid disease in the circulation. In addition, most of the 'healthy' relatives were also positive for some or all of the markers sought in this study. The expression of these markers thus seems to be variable. No clear-cut conclusion could be drawn regarding the inheritance of these markers. HLA genotypes were assayed for thirty-five specificities of A, B and C loci and five of the D loci. There was no correlation between any individual antigen or HLA haplotype and overt Hashimoto's disease in this family.