Abstract
Nonadherent, low density cells of dendritic morphology from the blood of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis were treated with human thyroglobulin (Tg) in vitro and cultured under serum-free conditions with autologous patient B cells and irradiated T cells. The patients were selected for high serum levels of IgG antithyroglobulin antibody (anti-Tg IgG). In 2 out of 12 patients the Tg-treatment induced production of anti-Tg IgG in excess of that secreted spontaneously. The amount of antibody produced in vitro (whether increased by Tg or not) correlated with the serum levels of antibody. In 5 patients (including the 2 who responded to Tg) the ratio of supernatant IgG anti-Tg antibody to total IgG was reduced when polyclonal stimulation was done with BCGF (10%). Antibody production was absent in cultures of cells from 2 patients with Graves disease and 4 normal individuals. Thus, in some patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an extrinsically added autoantigen (Tg) on blood-derived dendritic cells can induce IgG anti-Tg antibody in vitro. These data suggest that “professional” antigen-presenting cells may play a role in autoimmune thyroid disease.
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