ANTI-HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS AUTOANTIBODIES IN AUTOIMMUNE-THYROIDITIS - PRELIMINARY-STUDY

No data are currently available on the humoral autoimmune response aga inst self heat shock proteins (hsps) possibly occurring in patients su ffering from autoimmune thyroid disorders. Therefore, a preliminary re search was carried out to assess whether anti-self hsps autoantibodies are present in human autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). Serum samples from 14 patients with AIT were tested both in western blotting and in ELIS A for antibody binding to protein extracts of human cultured cells (bo th unstimulated and heat-shocked) as well as to purified hsp 73 and hs p 72. It was found that 7 out 14 (50%) patients with AIT have autoanti bodies of the IgM isotype strongly reacting with hsps 73/72. By contra st, autoantibodies to hsps 73/72 were detected only occasionally in se ra from patients suffering from non-autoimmune thyroid disorders (1 ou t 11) as well as in sera from healty individuals (2 out 9). No obvious clinical differences were detected between AIT patients who had autoa ntibodies to hsps 72/73 and those who did not. Clearly, more patients would have to be examined to determine whether the anomalous anti-hsps 73/72 autoimmune response occurring in a significant proportion of pa tients with AIT is in some way related to the pathogenesis and/or to t he progression of the disease.