Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Apr 26;25(9):4703.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25094703.

Autoimmunity, New Potential Biomarkers and the Thyroid Gland-The Perspective of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Its Treatment

Ewa Tywanek  1   2   3 , Agata Michalak  4 , Joanna Świrska  3 , Agnieszka Zwolak  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Autoimmunity, New Potential Biomarkers and the Thyroid Gland-The Perspective of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Its Treatment

Ewa Tywanek et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) is the most common organic specific illness of the thyroid gland. It may manifest as the overproduction or the decline of thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Hyperthyroidism develops due to the overproduction of hormones as an answer to the presence of stimulatory antibodies against the TSH receptor. Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is generally characterized by the presence of thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies, with a concomitant infiltration of lymphocytes in the thyroid. Due to the progressive destruction of cells, AITD can lead to subclinical or overt hypothyroidism. Pathophysiology of AITD is extremely complicated and still not fully understood, with genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors involved in its development. Due to increasing incidence and social awareness of this pathology, there is an urgent need to expand the background concerning AITD. A growing body of evidence suggests possible ways of treatment apart from traditional approaches. Simultaneously, the role of potential new biomarkers in the diagnosis and monitoring of AITD has been highlighted recently, too. Therefore, we decided to review therapeutic trends in the course of AITD based on its pathophysiological mechanisms, mainly focusing on HT. Another aim was to summarize the state of knowledge regarding the role of new biomarkers in this condition.

Keywords: antibodies; autoimmunity; biomarkers; thyroid gland; thyroiditis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Autoimmune disorders related to HT [15].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Possible biomarkers applicable in AITD, with a special focus on HT.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ragusa F., Fallahi P., Elia G., Gonnella D., Paparo S.R., Giusti C., Churilov L.P., Ferrari S.M., Antonelli A. Hashimotos’ Thyroiditis: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Clinic and Therapy. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2019;33:101367. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2019.101367. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Vargas-Uricoechea H. Molecular Mechanisms in Autoimmune Thyroid Disease. Cells. 2023;12:918. doi: 10.3390/cells12060918. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Antonelli A., Ferrari S.M., Corrado A., Di Domenicantonio A., Fallahi P. Autoimmune Thyroid Disorders. Autoimmun. Rev. 2015;14:174–180. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2014.10.016. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shrestha A., Adhikari N., Devkota S., Chowdhury T., Shiferaw-Deribe Z., Gousy N., Adhikari S. Fluctuating Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism in Graves’ Disease: The Swinging between Two Clinical Entities. Cureus. 2022;14:e27715. doi: 10.7759/cureus.27715. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hashimoto H. Zur Kenntnis der lymphoatosen Veranderung der Schilddruse (Struma lymphomatoa) Langenbecks Arch. Klin Chir. 1912;97:219–248.

LinkOut - more resources