Analysis of T-cell receptor usage in activated T-cell clones from Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease.

Rearrangements to the T-cell receptor (TcR) beta and gamma gene loci were studied in T cells derived from the thyroid glands of a patient with Hashimoto's (HT) and another with Graves' (GD) autoimmune thyroiditis. The cells studied were freshly isolated mononuclear cells, T-cell lines grown in the presence of anti-CD3 and IL-2 and T-cell clones. Numerous different rearrangements to the constant regions of TcR beta and TcR gamma and in the variable gene region of TcR beta were observed. These findings indicate that the T-cell response in autoimmune thyroiditis is multiclonal and may have implications for the epitopes recognized by autoreactive T cells and for the mechanisms of the disease.