Evidence of limited variability of antigen receptors on intrathyroidal T cells in autoimmune disease

Article Abstract:

Autoimmune thyroid diseases occur when the immune system is stimulated to mount a reaction against the tissues of the thyroid gland. Grave's disease is an example of an autoimmune thyroid disease. Recent studies have shown that T cells, lymphocytic cells that are part of the immune system, accumulate in the diseased thyroid and are involved in the autoimmune reaction. It is not clear if these T cells migrate from other areas of the body to the thyroid, or if they are derived from T cells found in the thyroid itself. If the cells are derived from T cells found in the thyroid, they are likely to be restrictive. This means that only a few of the T cell types normally produced from the genetic code for thyroid T cells are actually produced. If the cells have migrated to the thyroid, they should be polyclonal in nature, meaning that most of the genetically possible T cells are produced. Knowing the origin of these T cells could help in understanding autoimmune thyroid diseases, and how they can be treated and prevented. To determine the origin of the T cells, thyroid tissue samples and blood sample were taken from nine patients with autoimmune thyroid disease, four normal subjects, and four patients with thyroid disease of different etiology. T cell expression was then tested by using the polymerase chain reaction, which involved amplifying the genetic material related to the T cells to see how many of the genes were expressed. Results showed that for 18 different T cell thyroid genes, an average of 5 were expressed in the patients with autoimmune thyroid disease. In subjects with other thyroid disease, expression of nearly all the genes could be detected. In the autoimmune disease subjects, T cell gene expression from areas outside the thyroid was detected for 17 of 18 genes; similar results were found in the normal and other thyroid disease subjects. These results indicate that T cells derived the thyroid are involved in autoimmune thyroid disease. A possible treatment may be to use antibodies to T cell receptors in the thyroid to prevent the destructive T cells from destroying thyroid tissue. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Methods, Physiological aspects, Genetic aspects, Polymerase chain reaction, Antigen receptors, T cell, T cell antigen receptors, Thyroid diseases, Thyroiditis, Autoimmune, Autoimmune thyroiditis

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Serotonin receptors and headache

Article Abstract:

Serotonin is a hormone found in large concentrations in the central nervous system. It acts as a vasoconstrictor, or causes blood vessels to become narrower. About 30 years ago, research studies first suggested that serotonin played a role in migraine headaches, but subsequent studies were unable to define this role. Interest in the relation between serotonin and migraine has resurfaced because of recent clinical trials using sumatriptan, a drug that was designed to activate a particular type of serotonin cell receptor. Two articles in the August 1, 1991 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine report that sumatriptan is effective in treating migraine attacks and cluster headache. There are a number of types and subtypes of cell receptors for serotonin located in different regions of the body. It is uncertain whether sumatriptan actually penetrates the brain to activate serotonin receptors. It is hypothesized that it may work outside the brain by affecting a vascular site. Whether or not it causes vasoconstriction is unknown, nor is it clear that vasoconstriction is useful in treating migraine. Migraine pain often includes pain in the limbs on the same side as the headache. Neurological research indicates that different parts of the central nervous system are involved with migraine than with cluster headache. What is similar between the two types of headache is abnormal serotonin cell activation, but probably involving different locations. Sumatriptan, which probably acts on only one receptor, is probably the first of many such drugs. As more drugs are developed for the other serotonin receptors, knowledge about how the phenomenon of headache works should increase. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Drug therapy, Sumatriptan, Migraine, Cluster headache, editorial

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