Skip to main content
PMC home page
The American Journal of Pathology logoLink to The American Journal of Pathology
. 1989 Jul;135(1):219–225.

Intrathyroidal Dendritic Cells, Epitheloid Cells, and Giant Cells in Iodine Deficient Goiter

Martie M Wilders-Truschnig, Peter J Kabel, Hemmo A Drexhage, Alfred Beham, Georg Leb, Otto Eber, Joseph Hebenstreit, Doris Loidolt, Gottfried Dohr, Gerhard Lanzer, Guenter J Krejs
PMCID: PMC1880215  PMID: 2505621

Abstract

Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were performed on thyroid sections of 44 consecutive patients undergoing thyroid surgery for goiter due to iodine deficiency. Sections were compared with specimens from ten individuals without goiters from the same endemic area, with specimens from ten sporadic nontoxic goiter patients, and with specimens from an area with sufficient iodine supply from nine healthy subjects. Cells were characterized using monoclonal antibodies to the CR3 receptor (CD11b) and the P150/95 antigen (CD11c) present on macrophages, to HLA-DR, to antigen resenting cells (RFD1), to T helper (CD4) and to T suppressor/cytotoxic cells (CD8), and with a polyclonal antibody to human cytokeratin. In iodine dificient goiters, focal aggregates were found of RFD1-positive dendritic Cells. Furthermore, RFD1-positive epitheloid cells were seen. In 27% of cases, these epitheloid cells completely filled the thyroid follicles. Within the epitheloid cell clusters, multinucleated giant cells could be detected that carried the macrophage markers. Dendritic cells, epitheloid cells, and giant cells were strongly HLA-DR positive. In nongoitrouds thyroids from the endemic area such aggregates could also be seen but they were more sparse and were RFD-1 negative. Giant cells were absent there. In normal thyroids with sufficient iodine supply, only a few isolated dendritic cells were seen. All except RFD1, which was negative, showed the same marker pattern. In sporadic nontoxic goiters from an area with sufficient iodine supply, dendritic cells occurred in much higher numbers than in the normal thyroids from that area, and they were RFD1 positive. They never aggregated as in iodine deficiency, and-Giant cells were not observed. These observations on iodine deficient goiter strongly suggest involvement of active antigen-presenting cells in this disorder. However, the immunohistologic difference between this disease and sporadic goiter suggests different underlying mechanisms.

Full text

PDF
219

Images in this article

222Figure 1
on p.222
223Figure 2
on p.223

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Carney J. A., Moore S. B., Northcutt R. C., Woolner L. B., Stillwell G. K. Palpation thyroiditis (multifocal granulomatour folliculitis). Am J Clin Pathol. 1975 Nov;64(5):639–647. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/64.5.639. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Champion B. R., Rayner D. C., Byfield P. G., Page K. R., Chan C. T., Roitt I. M. Critical role of iodination for T cell recognition of thyroglobulin in experimental murine thyroid autoimmunity. J Immunol. 1987 Dec 1;139(11):3665–3670. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. De Baets M. H., Theunissen R., Kok K., de Vijlder J. J., van Breda Vriesman P. J. Monoclonal antibodies to human thyroglobulin as probes for thyroglobulin structure. Endocrinology. 1987 Mar;120(3):1104–1111. doi: 10.1210/endo-120-3-1104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Grubeck-Loebenstein B., Kletter K., Kiss A., Vierhapper H., Waldhäusl W. Endemische Struma in Osterreich. Ist Jodmangel die primäre Kropfursache? Schweiz Med Wochenschr. 1982 Oct 30;112(44):1526–1530. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kabel P. J., Voorbij H. A., De Haan M., van der Gaag R. D., Drexhage H. A. Intrathyroidal dendritic cells. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988 Jan;66(1):199–207. doi: 10.1210/jcem-66-1-199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lucas-Martin A., Foz-Sala M., Todd I., Bottazzo G. F., Pujol-Borrell R. Occurrence of thyrocyte HLA class II expression in a wide variety of thyroid diseases: relationship with lymphocytic infiltration and thyroid autoantibodies. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988 Feb;66(2):367–375. doi: 10.1210/jcem-66-2-367. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Medeiros-Neto G. A., Halpern A., Cozzi Z. S., Lima N., Kohn L. D. Thyroid growth immunoglobulins in large multinodular endemic goiters: effect of iodized oil. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1986 Sep;63(3):644–650. doi: 10.1210/jcem-63-3-644. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Peters J. H., Ruhl S., Friedrichs D. Veiled accessory cells deduced from monocytes. Immunobiology. 1987 Dec;176(1-2):154–166. doi: 10.1016/s0171-2985(87)80107-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Poulter L. W., Campbell D. A., Munro C., Janossy G. Discrimination of human macrophages and dendritic cells by means of monoclonal antibodies. Scand J Immunol. 1986 Sep;24(3):351–357. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1986.tb02104.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Poulter L. W., Janossy G. The involvement of dendritic cells in chronic inflammatory disease. Scand J Immunol. 1985 May;21(5):401–407. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1985.tb01825.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Schatz H., Pschierer-Berg K., Nickel J. A., Bär R., Müller F., Bretzel R. G., Müller H., Stracke H. Assay for thyroid growth stimulating immunoglobulins: stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into isolated thyroid follicles by TSH, EGF, and immunoglobulins from goitrous patients in an iodine-deficient region. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh) 1986 Aug;112(4):523–530. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.1120523. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Silberberg-Sinakin I., Thorbecke G. J., Baer R. L., Rosenthal S. A., Berezowsky V. Antigen-bearing langerhans cells in skin, dermal lymphatics and in lymph nodes. Cell Immunol. 1976 Aug;25(2):137–151. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(76)90105-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Smyrk T. C., Goellner J. R., Brennan M. D., Carney J. A. Pathology of the thyroid in amiodarone-associated thyrotoxicosis. Am J Surg Pathol. 1987 Mar;11(3):197–204. doi: 10.1097/00000478-198703000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sundick R. S., Herdegen D. M., Brown T. R., Bagchi N. The incorporation of dietary iodine into thyroglobulin increases its immunogenicity. Endocrinology. 1987 May;120(5):2078–2084. doi: 10.1210/endo-120-5-2078. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wilders M. M., Drexhage H. A., Kokjé M., Verspaget H. W., Meuwissen S. G. Veiled cells in chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 1984 Feb;55(2):377–387. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. van der Gaag R. D., Drexhage H. A., Wiersinga W. M., Brown R. S., Docter R., Bottazzo G. F., Doniach D. Further studies on thyroid growth-stimulating immunoglobulins in euthyroid nonendemic goiter. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1985 May;60(5):972–979. doi: 10.1210/jcem-60-5-972. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The American Journal of Pathology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Investigative Pathology

RESOURCES