Tang H, Sharp G C, Chen K, Braley-Mullen H
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA.
J Autoimmun. 1998 Dec;11(6):581-9. doi: 10.1006/jaut.1998.0247.
To study the potential roles of cytokines in development and resolution of granulomatous experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT), the kinetics of in vivo expression of cytokine genes in thyroid infiltrates was analysed using reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). Both Th1 (IL-2 and IFN-gamma) and Th2 (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokines as well as TGF-betaTNF-alphaIL-12 and IL-1beta were detected in thyroids during both the initial phase and peak of granulomatous EAT. Maximal expression of cytokine genes generally occurred 11-14 days after cell transfer, prior to maximal EAT severity, which occurred 19-21 days after cell transfer. The relative ratios of Th1:Th2 cytokines and mouse thyroglobulin-(MTg)-specific IgG1 and IgG2a autoantibody levels were similar during both the initial phase and peak of EAT. Depletion of CD8(+) T cells did not decrease the severity of EAT but delayed resolution of lesions. Cytokine gene expression in thyroids was not decreased by anti-CD8 treatment. Together, these data indicate that both Th1 and Th2 cytokines produced by CD4(+) T cells are involved in induction and development of granulomatous EAT, and CD8-dependent resolution of granulomatous EAT is apparently not mediated by these cytokines.
为研究细胞因子在肉芽肿性实验性自身免疫性甲状腺炎（EAT）发生发展及消退过程中的潜在作用，采用逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析了甲状腺浸润细胞中细胞因子基因的体内表达动力学。在肉芽肿性EAT的初始阶段和高峰期，甲状腺中均检测到Th1（IL-2和IFN-γ）和Th2（IL-4和IL-10）细胞因子以及TGF-β、TNF-α、IL-12和IL-1β。细胞因子基因的最大表达通常在细胞转移后11 - 14天出现，早于EAT严重程度的峰值，EAT严重程度峰值出现在细胞转移后19 - 21天。在EAT的初始阶段和高峰期，Th1:Th2细胞因子的相对比例以及小鼠甲状腺球蛋白（MTg）特异性IgG1和IgG2a自身抗体水平相似。CD8(+) T细胞的耗竭并未降低EAT的严重程度，但延迟了病变的消退。抗CD8治疗并未降低甲状腺中细胞因子基因的表达。总之，这些数据表明，CD4(+) T细胞产生的Th1和Th2细胞因子均参与肉芽肿性EAT的诱导和发展，而CD8依赖性的肉芽肿性EAT消退显然不是由这些细胞因子介导的。
