Imbalances in t cell-related transcription factors among patients with: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

Objectives: imbalances in effector t cell functioning have been associated with a number of autoimmune diseases,including hashimoto’s thyroiditis (ht). differentiation of effector t helper (th) 1,th2,th17 and regulatory t cell (treg) lymphocytes is regulated by transcription factors,including th1-specific t box (t-bet),gata binding protein-3 (gata3),retinoid-related orphan receptor (ror)-α and forkhead box p3 (foxp3). this study aimed to investigate th1/th2,th1/treg,th2/treg and th17/treg balances at the level of these transcription factors. methods: this study took place between october 2015 and august 2016. peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from a control group of 40 healthy women recruited from the zahedan university of medical sciences,zahedan,iran,and a patient group of 40 women with ht referred to the hazrat ali asghar hospital,zahedan. total ribonucleic acid extraction was performed and the gene expression of transcription factors was quantitated using a real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. results: expression of t-bet and gata3 was significantly elevated,while foxp3 expression was significantly diminished among ht patients in comparison with the controls (p = 0.03,0.01 and 0.05,respectively). expression of rorα was higher among ht patients,although this difference was not significant (p = 0.15). expression of t-bet/foxp3,gata3/foxp3 and rorα/foxp3 ratios were increased among ht patients in comparison with the controls (p <0.02,<0.01 and <0.01,respectively). conclusion: these results indicate that ht patients have imbalances in th1/treg,th2/treg and th17/treg lymphocytes at the level of the transcription factors,deviating towards th1,th2 and th17 cells. correction of these imbalances may therefore be therapeutic. © 2017,sultan qaboos university. all rights reserved.