Sera from patients with Graves' disease were assayed for thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI) and circulating immune complexes (CIC) before, during, and after antithyroid drug treatment. 41 (72%) of 57 untreated patients had a positive TSI index and 17 (30%) had CIC. In untreated patients CIC were significantly more common in patients with a negative TSI index than in those with a positive one. It is suggested that because CIC prevent TSI from being detected the TSI index may be negative in Graves' disease. Early in the course of the treatment CIC developed in 85% of the patients; in all of these patients TSI disappeared. Later in the course of treatment when CIC could no longer be detected TSI did not reappear. These findings indicate that the development CIC could be the manifestation of the re-establishment of a natural tolerance to thyroid-stimulating hormone receptors in patients with Graves' disease.

Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic↗

PubMed1980

T4, T3 and reverse T3 in the plasma of rats during the first 3 months of life.

A very sensitive radioimmunoassay for reverse T3 in rat plasma is described. The concentrations of T4, T3 and reverse T3 in plasma of male and female rats were determined during the first 3 months of life. T4 concentrations reached a maximum value of 5.2 +/- 0.7 microgram/100 ml (mean +/- SD) when the rats were about 16 days old. As of day 28 the average serum T4 was approximately 4 microgram/100 ml. Concentrations of T3 reached a maximum value of 168 +/- 34 ng/100 ml (mean +/- SD) during the 16-20 day period. A plateau value of about 40 ng/100 ml was maintained after about 70 days. For reverse T3 a maximum value of 17.1 +/- 4.2 ng/100 ml (mean +/- SD) was found in rats between 13 and 16 days old, followed by a steep decrease to 8.2 +/- 0.9 ng/100 ml around the 28th day and a subsequent continuous slow increase. For the T3/reverse T3 ration (as a parameter of the direction of the conversion pathway) the highest value of 16 was found during the fourth week of life. After 70 days the T3/ reverse T3 ratio was only 3.5. The reciprocal fluctuations between T3 and reverse T3, as found in man and sheep, are less pronounced in the rat. The very high metabolic clearance rate of reverse T3 compared to that of T3 could be the explanation.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins do not cause non-autonomous, autonomous, or toxic multinodular goitres.

Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSIs) were measured by radioreceptor assay in serum from 51 patients with a multinodular goitre, divided into four groups according to thyroid function, and in 30 normal people. In 9 patients who were euthyroid and had non-autonomous thyroid function and in 6 patients who were hyperthyroid, TSI index was normal . Of 21 euthyroid patients with autonomous function only 2 had a slightly abnormal TSI index (66 in both, normal greater than or equal to 68). Another series of 15 clinically euthyroid patients also had a normal TSI index. These results suggest that TSIs do not contribute to the pathogenesis of multinodular goitre, as has been suggested by others.

Adult↗