The genetics of Hashimoto's disease

The prototype of chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis i s an inflammatory disorder of the thyroid gland characterized by enlargemen t of the thyroid, lymphocytic infiltration, varying degrees of thyroid hypo function, and circulating antibodies to thyroid antigens. Hashimoto's disea se is an autoimmune disorder caused by abnormal-humoral and cellular-immune response to the thyroid gland. The observation that patients' relatives co mparatively are more likely to have the disorder indicates a genetic predis position to the disease, an observation supported by studies of spontaneous and experimental animal models. A number of candidate genes have been stud ied as predisposing factors. This article reviews the evidence for a geneti c component in the cause of the disease and summarizes the state of current knowledge about the involved genes.