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Horm Metab Res 2008; 40(6): 416-421
DOI: 10.1055/s-2008-1073151
Humans, Clinical

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Circulating Chemokines in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

J. Domberg 1 [*] , L. Chao 1 , 2 [*] , C. Papewalis 1 , C. Pfleger 3 , K. Xu 2 , H. S. Willenberg 1 , D. Hermsen 4 , W. A. Scherbaum 1 , N. C. Schloot 3 , M. Schott 1
  • 1Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Rheumatology, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
  • 2Department of Endocrinology, First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
  • 3Institute for Clinical Diabetes Research, German Diabetes Centre, Leibniz-Institute at the Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
  • 4Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
Further Information

Publication History

received 11.01.2008

accepted 25.02.2008

Publication Date:
14 April 2008 (online)

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Abstract

Chemokines are a group of small proteins that recruit different leukocyte subtypes to sites of inflammation and play important roles in initiating and maintaining immunological responses in autoimmune endocrine diseases including Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Previous studies have found increased gene and protein expression of different kinds of chemokines not only within the thyroid gland but also within thyroid cells in GD or HT patients. A few studies have determined serum levels of chemokines, with conflicting results. We measured circulating concentrations of CCL2, CCL5, CXCL9, and CXCL10 in patients with GD, HT, and nontoxic nodular thyroid disease (NNT). While CCL2 and CXCL9 concentrations were comparable in patients with either AITD or NNT, CCL5 was significantly increased in GD patients compared with HT or NNT subjects. In contrast, CXCL10 levels were lower in patients with GD, but the difference was statistically significant only when compared with patients with HT (p=0.0018). Importantly, GD patients who relapsed or went into remission had significantly different levels of CXCL9 (p=0.0252). Serum levels of CCL2, CCL5, CXCL9, and CXCL10 did not reveal any correlation with thyroid volume; with the levels of thyrotropin (TSH), FT3, or FT4; or with the titers of TSH receptor antibody and thyroperoxidase antibody. These data suggest that the expression patterns of chemokines in various thyroid diseases differ from each other, which may reflect the distinct immune responses in HT and GD.

Key words

chemokine - Graves’ disease - Hashimoto's thyroiditis - autoantibodies

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1 Both authors contributed equally to this article.

Correspondence

M. SchottMD 

Department of Endocrinology

Diabetes and Rheumatology

University Hospital Düsseldorf

Moorenstr. 5

40225 Düsseldorf

Germany

Phone: +49/211/811 78 10

Fax: +49/211/811 78 60

Email: matthias.schott@med.uni-duesseldorf.de

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