The levels of immunoreactive proteins and cytokines in the blood of the patients presenting with autoimmune thyroid diseases

We determined the levels of TSH, free T4 (fT4), immunoregulatory proteins (alpha-2-macroglobulin (α2-MG), lactoferrin (LF), alpha-1-antitripsin (α1-AT) , and cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-6, IFN-gamma)) in the blood of 50 women presenting with diffuse toxic goiter (DTG) and 35 women with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) before and 4-6 months after the treatment. Thirty healthy women served as controls. Hypothyroidism in the outcome of AIT was associated with hypercytokinemia and the enhanced levels of a2-MG and LF, but not a1-AT. The treatment had no effect on these parameters but normalized the TSH and T4 levels. Manifest DTG was associated with the increased IFN-gamma, IL-6, α2-MG, LF, and α1-AT levels . The treatment during 4-6 months resulted in the reduction of the IL-6 and α2-MG levels whereas the hormonal status of the patients became normal. The persistence of certain disturbances suggested that dysfunction of the immune system was not totally corrected despite the normalization of the hormonal status and could be interpreted as the risk factor of a relapse of thyroid pathology.