Detection of IL-12, IL-13, and IL-15 Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in the Thyroid of Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

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Abstract
IL-12, IL-13, and IL-15 are important cytokines that have not been studied previously in human autoimmune thyroid diseases. By ap- plying RT-PCR on RNA extracted from tissue samples, we have in- vestigated in vivo gene expression of these cytokines in multinodular goiter (MNG), Graves' disease (GD), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). In addition, in vitro studies were carried out using the trans- formed human thyroid cell line, HT-ori3, and primary thyroid cell cultures derived from patients with GD. These cells were used either unstimulated or stimulated for 12 h with TSH, IL-1, or interferon-g (IFN-g). IL-12 p40 gene expression was identified in 2 of 10 MNG samples, 6 of 12 GD, and 3 of 4 HT. HT-ori3 and primary thyroid cell cultures were positive for IL-12 p40 messenger RNA (mRNA) expres- sion in both unstimulated and stimulated cell cultures. IL-13 mRNA was expressed in 2 MNG, 9 GD, and 1 HT sample. Both HT-ori3 and primary thyroid cultures expressed IL-13 after TSH, IL-1, or IFN-g stimulation; unstimulated primary cultures of thyroid cells, however, did not express IL-13. IL-15 gene expression was detected in 8 MNG, 8 GD, and 4 HT samples. HT-ori3 and primary thyroid cell cultures, stimulated with TSH, IL-1, or IFN-g, showed expression of this cy- tokine. Unstimulated cells showed only a weak expression. Our re- sults indicate that the cytokine patterns in the various diseases stud- ied are heterogeneous; that thyroid cells can express IL-12, IL-13, and IL-15 mRNA in culture, particularly after TSH, IL-1, or IFN-g stim- ulation; and that IL-15 is expressed in most of the tissue samples studied. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 82: 666 - 669, 1997)

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