The origin of sporadic multinodular goiter is still uncertain. To obtain information on a number of unexplored immunological features, the distribution and characterization of T, B, and natural killer lymphocyte subsets were studied in the peripheral blood of 15 patients with multinodular goiter; 8 patients with Graves' disease (for reference purposes with a well-characterized autoimmune disease) and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, combining double-staining immunofluorescence technique with monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. Although in both thyroid diseases increased CD3+ HLA-DR+ activated T cells (P < 0.01) were detected, in Graves' disease this was associated with decreased numbers of CD8 cells (P < 0.05) and an increased CD4/CD8 ratio (P < 0.01). These abnormalities were absent in multinodular goiter, which displayed increased CD8+ CD57+ cytotoxic/suppressor cells (P < 0.01). There was an increase in the percentage of natural killer cells expressing CD16 and CD57 antigens in multinodular goiter but not in Graves' disease. The B-cell associated antigens CD19 and CD19+ CD5+ were significantly increased in Graves' disease (P < 0.01), while the multinodular goiter patients exhibited only an increased number of B cells coexpressing the CD5 antigen (CD19+ CD5+), which was unrelated to the titers of anti-microsomal and antithyroglobulin autoantibodies. Our results point to the presence of several abnormalities of peripheral T, B, and natural killer lymphocytes in sporadic multinodular goiter, with a distribution pattern quite different from that observed in Graves' disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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1. A study was made of the activity of the enzyme thyroid peroxidase and of the concentration, carbohydrate composition and the degree of iodination of thyroglobulin in the thyroid glands of 60 patients with non-endemic non-toxic goitre in the nodular phase and in those of 25 control subjects. 2. Thyroid peroxidase activity was determined by the guaiacol assay and was significantly higher in patients with non-endemic non-toxic goitre than in control subjects (3.60 +/- 2.51 and 2.07 +/- 1.08 mumol of guaiacol oxidized min-1 g-1 of tissue, respectively; ranges 0.16-10.57 and 0.52-4.85 mumol of guaiacol oxidized min-1 g-1 of tissue, respectively; P less than 0.05). 3. Thyroglobulin was purified by precipitation with ammonium sulphate and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. Two protein peaks were obtained which were identified as thyroglobulin and measured by radioimmunoassay. The concentration of thyroglobulin in the first peak was 98.94 (SD 84.87, range 0.60-455.54) mg/g of tissue for the patients with non-endemic, non-toxic goitre and 51.41 (SD 28.34, range 14.99-106.39) mg/g of tissue for the control subjects (P less than 0.01). The second peak showed 1.26 (SD 1.27, range 0.09-6.50) mg of thyroglobulin/mg of tissue for the group with non-endemic non-toxic goitre and 0.51 (SD 0.25, range 0.15-0.98 mg of thyroglobulin/mg of tissue) for the control subjects (P less than 0.01). 4. The carbohydrate composition of thyroglobulin was determined by acid hydrolysis and colorimetry, evaluating the levels of hexoses, hexosamines and sialic acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)