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Increased concentration of T‐cell receptor rearrangement excision circles ( TREC ) in peripheral blood in Graves' disease
Author(s) -
Strawa Katarzyna,
Markowska Anna,
Miśkiewicz Piotr,
Kuś Aleksander,
Ambroziak Urszula,
Szymański Konrad,
Zbiec Renata,
Spólnicka Magdalena,
Krajewski Paweł,
Bednarczuk Tomasz,
Płoski Rafał
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/cen.12492
Subject(s) - euthyroid , medicine , endocrinology , autoimmunity , graves' disease , receptor , peripheral , pathophysiology , peripheral blood , disease , thyroid
Summary Background T‐cell receptor rearrangement excision circles ( TREC ) are circular DNA molecules generated during T‐cell maturation in the thymus. Recent studies suggested that a decreased TREC concentration in peripheral blood may be a general feature of autoimmunity. Our purpose was to assess the TREC concentration in Graves' disease ( GD ). Methods TREC concentration was assessed by real time PCR in DNA samples isolated from peripheral blood leucocytes among younger ( n = 94, age range 6–29 years) and older patients with GD ( n = 93, age range 57–80 years) and age‐matched controls ( n = 206). Results TREC concentration decreased with age in all subjects, but it was significantly higher in GD compared with controls ( P = 9·4 × 10 −10 ). TREC concentration was higher ( P = 0·0038) in hyperthyroid ( n = 78) than euthyroid ( n = 82) patients with GD , but in both groups, it remained increased relative to controls ( P = 2·2 × 10 −11 and P = 4·4 ×10 −7 , respectively). Conclusions Patients with GD , particularly those with hyperthyroidism, have increased concentration of TREC which may suggest increased rather than decreased thymic activity. Thus, GD does not follow the paradigm suggested for other autoimmune disorders which links autoimmunity with thymic senescence.