Study on the role of tissue-specific and non-specific autoantibodies, matrix metalloproteinase-3 and neuron-specific enolase enzymes in the exacerbation of autoimmune thyroiditis

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the involvement of tissue-specific and non-specific autoantibodies, matrix metalloproteinase-3 and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) enzymes in the development and exacerbation of autoimmune thyroiditis. Materials and methods. The study enrolled 170 patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (64 males and 106 females aged 18 to 64 years) to comprehensively examine their humoral immune response indicators (IgA, M, G), organ-specific (Ab-TG, Ab-TPO) and organ-non-specific antibodies (Ab-DNA), metalloproteinase-3 and NSE activity. The control group consisted of 65 individuals without thyroid pathologies or other autoimmune diseases, aged 20 to 65 years (26 males and 39 females). Results. The study has demonstrated changes in the levels of organ-specific and organ-nonspecific antibodies and statistically significantly increased metalloproteinase-3 activity in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. Positive correlations have been found between elevated levels of IgG, Ab-TG, Ab-TPO, Ab-dsDNA and NSE activity. Negative correlations have been observed between NSE activity and IgA concentrations. Conclusions. Elevated titers of anti-DNA autoantibodies may indicate an aggravation of the autoimmune process due to cellular structure damage, resulting in gland dysfunction. The findings also suggest that metalloproteinase-3, a marker predicting thyroid tissue damage, may negatively impact the immune response induction, ultimately affecting the activity of neuron-specific enolase. The data have shown that studying biochemical indicators such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-DNA antibodies, metalloproteinase-3 and neurodegenerative indicators could provide informative markers to determine the nature of the disease development and worsening.