Campi Irene, Tosi Delfina, Rossi Stefania, Vannucchi Guia, Covelli Danila, Colombo Federico, Trombetta Elena, Porretti Laura, Vicentini Leonardo, Cantoni Gianmaria, Currò Nicola, Beck-Peccoz Paolo, Bulfamante Gaetano, Salvi Mario
1 Graves' Orbitopathy Center , Endocrinology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan and Università degli Studi di Milano , Milan, Italy .
2 Unit of Pathology A.O. San Paolo, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy .
Thyroid. 2015 Sep;25(9):1043-9. doi: 10.1089/thy.2015.0029. Epub 2015 Aug 13.
The B cell activating factor (BAFF) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor family, which controls the survival/proliferation of B cells and is involved in the pathogenesis of a number of autoimmune diseases. The objective of the present study was to investigate the expression of BAFF and BAFF receptor (BAFF-R) in the thyroid tissue of patients affected with autoimmune thyroid disorders (AITD) or multinodular goiter (MNG) compared with those with normal thyroids.
Immunohistochemistry was performed using a panel of antibodies against BAFF, BAFF-R, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD34, CD79a, CD1a, CD68, and CD163 on the thyroid sections of 27 patients affected with Graves' disease (GD), 23 with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), 16 with nontoxic nodular goiter (NTG), and 15 with toxic nodular goiter (TG), submitted to total thyroidectomy between 2000 and 2011.
The overall BAFF-R expression in thyrocytes was weak and not different in AITD and MNG. Conversely, a stronger BAFF expression was observed in MNG compared with AITD. BAFF and BAFF-R expression in the infiltrating lymphocytes was higher in AITD compared with MNG. Interestingly, in lymphocytes of follicular-like structures observed in HT, BAFF and BAFF-R were localized in the germinal center or in the mantle, respectively.
This study shows that BAFF and BAFF-R are expressed in the thyrocytes derived from patients with either AITD or MNG, in addition to the expected expression of BAFF and its receptor in the infiltrating immune cells of GD and HT. These findings suggest a possible involvement of BAFF and its receptors in the pathophysiology of AITD.
B细胞活化因子（BAFF）是肿瘤坏死因子家族的成员，可控制B细胞的存活/增殖，并参与多种自身免疫性疾病的发病机制。本研究的目的是调查自身免疫性甲状腺疾病（AITD）或多结节性甲状腺肿（MNG）患者与正常甲状腺患者相比，甲状腺组织中BAFF和BAFF受体（BAFF-R）的表达情况。
使用一组针对BAFF、BAFF-R、CD3、CD4、CD8、CD20、CD34、CD79a、CD1a、CD68和CD163的抗体，对2000年至2011年间接受全甲状腺切除术的27例格雷夫斯病（GD）患者、23例桥本甲状腺炎（HT）患者、16例非毒性结节性甲状腺肿（NTG）患者和15例毒性结节性甲状腺肿（TG）患者的甲状腺切片进行免疫组织化学检测。
甲状腺细胞中BAFF-R的总体表达较弱，在AITD和MNG中无差异。相反，与AITD相比，MNG中观察到更强的BAFF表达。与MNG相比，AITD中浸润淋巴细胞中BAFF和BAFF-R的表达更高。有趣的是，在HT中观察到的滤泡样结构的淋巴细胞中，BAFF和BAFF-R分别定位于生发中心或套区。
本研究表明，除了GD和HT浸润免疫细胞中BAFF及其受体的预期表达外，BAFF和BAFF-R在AITD或MNG患者的甲状腺细胞中也有表达。这些发现提示BAFF及其受体可能参与了AITD的病理生理学过程。
