Th1 cytokines in autoimmune thyroiditis.

This study was performed on a lot of 51 patients and intends to correlate the autoimmune thyroiditis to the synthesis of Th1 cytokines and to the activation of T lymphocytes. We find out that CD25, an activation marker of T lymphocytes, is significantly increased in these patients. We also find out that certain cytokine serum levels are increased (IL-2, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma). These cytokines correspond to the secretor profile of the Th1 subset. Mononuclear cell culture supernatants showed an increased level of IL-2 and TNF-alpha in samples stimulated with ConA in comparison to unstimulated samples from the same patient, suggesting the existence of an expansioned Th1 and CD8+ cytotoxic population.