Decreased Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1 Molecule Expression on Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes from Patients with Graves’ Disease

Abstract

Humoral and cellular abnormalities have been described in autoimmune thyroid diseases, but a deficient cooperation between humoral and cellular systems has been poorly investigated in such diseases. Lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), a glycoprotein expressed on T- and B-lymphocytes, plays an important role in cell-cell interaction mechanisms and is involved in the homing phenomenon. The expression of this molecule was investigated on peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients suffering from various thyroid disorders. Decreased numbers of LFA-1-positive cells were observed in 30 patients with Graves' disease, while normal values were present in 8 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 37 subjects with nonautoimmune thyroid disorders. Treatment-induced improvement of Graves' disease was associated with an increase in LFA-1-positive cell number.

The expression of the beta 1 integrin CD29 and the beta 2 integrin CD11b is decreased in peripheral blood lymphocytes from Graves' disease patients

“…Peripheral blood cells expressing LFA-1, a member of the beta-2 integrin family (CD11a), are fewer in patients with GD, but not in patients with HT (15 (12). Taken together, these deficits could be implicated in the decreased lymphocyte infiltration in the thyroid gland of GD patients compared with HT patients (2,5,22).…”

“…A decreased expression of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), a member of the beta-2 integrin family (CD11a), has been demonstrated in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with GD, but not in HT (15). Likewise, the percentage of thyroid-infiltrating LFA-1þ lymphocytes in patients with GD is lower than that observed in the glands of patients with HT (5,12).…”

“…Recently, increased attention has been focused on adhesion molecules in autoimmune thyroid diseases (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17). The expression of ICAM-1 has been shown to be upregulated on thyroidal perifollicular endothelial cells (10), fibroblasts (10) and thyrocytes (11), although the expression in Graves' thyroid glands is lower than that in HT (12).…”

Expression of Very Late Antigen-4 and Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1 on Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes from Patients with Graves Disease

“…Several studies have been concerned with the expression of these molecules on peripheral blood mononuclear cells at the onset of GD in humans (18,19). Results from one study suggest that patients with hyperthyroidism display decreased expression of integrins (18).…”

“…Results from one study suggest that patients with hyperthyroidism display decreased expression of integrins (18). Recently, another study has shown that in patients with newly diagnosed GD, the expression of ICAM-1 (CD54) is higher than in controls (19).…”