Autoantibody against thyroid iodide transporter in the sera from patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis possesses iodide transport inhibitory activity

Recently we have newly identified an autoantibody against thyroid iodide transporter (TIT) in the sera from patients with autoimmune thyroid disease. In order to study the function of these autoantibodies, we established CHO-K1 cells stably expressing recombinant rat TIT (CHO-TIT cells), and the effect of IgGs from the patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis on iodide uptake activity of CHO-TIT cells was investigated. We found that 4 out of 34 sera from patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis strongly recognized TIT by Western blot analysis. These 4 IgGs, purified by protein A column chromatography, caused 14 to 62% inhibition of I- accumulation in CHO-TIT cells. Next, using synthetic peptides, we determined the recognition site of the autoantibody on the TIT molecule. The autoantibody reacted with the synthetic peptide corresponding to the 6th extracellular loop of the TIT molecule. These results suggest that autoantibody against TIT in the sera from patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis binds to the 6th extracellular loop of TIT protein and inhibits I- transport into the thyrocytes. Anti-TIT autoantibody might participate in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and modulate thyroid function of patients with the disease. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.