Thyroiditis—A model canine autoimmune disease

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a model canine autoimmune disease that is thyroiditis. Thyroiditis is representative of a large number of autoimmune diseases in which immunological surveillance falters so that self and nonself become confused and the body attacks itself. In human medicine, autoimmunity is the cause of most common endocrine disorders. This appears to be true for dogs as well. A significant measure of the diagnostic ambiguity about canine hypothyroidism stems from our ignorance of the fundamental causes and contributing mechanisms underlying the autoimmune responses of dogs. The development of autoimmune disease generally involves a multistep process: an initiating event produces nonspecific trauma or inflammation that triggers a secondary immune reaction in a genetically predisposed individual. The endocrine gland is progressively destroyed by the autoimmune attack, and as the hormone titers change, clinical symptoms appear. The chapter reviews thyroiditis as a model for research on the general features of canine autoimmunity. One aim is to screen for canine alleles of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) like those that have been associated with autoimmune disease in people.