HUMAN THYROID PEROXIDASE - AUTOANTIBODY RECOGNITION DEPENDS ON THE NATURAL CONFORMATION

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) purified from human thyroid glands was used t o study the correlation between natural conformation and its ability f or binding of autoantibodies in sera from patients with autoimmune lym phocytic thyroiditis (Hashimoto's thyroiditis). Treatment with heat (6 0-degrees-C), urea, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), and dithiothreitol (D TT) decreased the autoantigenicity of TPO on average by 73.3%, 74.1%, 86.3%, and 91.8% measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) . respectively. These data demonstrate, that the binding of the majori ty of autoantibodies to human TPO depends on its natural conformation and modification. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss. Inc