Comparison of measurements of in vitro production of antithyroid microsomal antibody versus antithyroid peroxidase antibody.

In vitro production of antithyroid microsomal antibody (AMA) and antithyroid peroxidase antibody (APA) by peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) has been studied and compared, in view of the evidence for identity of the two differently measured antibodies. Peripheral non-T cells (2 x 10(5)) and autologous CD4 (helper/inducer) cells (2 x 10(5)) from patients with positive serum AMA were cultured for 7 days with pokeweed mitogen (PWM). B cells secreting AMA or APA were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) spot assay. AMA or APA in the culture supernatants of these cells was also measured by ELISA. There was a significant correlation between the number of AMA- (IgG class) secreting cells and APA- (IgG class) secreting cells (r = 0.89 p less than 0.001). There was also a significant correlation between AMA- and APA-ELISA indices (r = 0.86, p less than 0.001). Furthermore, the number of AMA- or APA-secreting cells significantly correlated with AMA or APA secreted in the culture supernatants (r = 0.91, r = 0.92), respectively. These data show that peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with AITD were able to produce antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPO) in vitro, as well as antibodies against thyroid microsomal antigen, after PWM stimulation. The significant correlation between in vitro AMA versus APA production, or the number of AMA- versus APA-secreting cells, accords with the evidence that TPO is identical to, or at least the major antigenic protein component of, thyroid microsomal antigen.