Monoclonal antibody studies defining the origin and properties of autoantibodies in Graves' disease

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 475; p. 157
• Main Authors: Kohn, L D, Alvarez, F, Marcocci, C, Kohn, A D, Corda, D, Hoffman, W E, Tombaccini, D, Valente, W A, de Luca, M, Santisteban, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 1986
• Subjects: Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic - immunology; Antibodies, Monoclonal - immunology; Antibody Specificity; Autoantibodies - immunology; Autoimmune Diseases - immunology; Cell Division; Connective Tissue - immunology; Exophthalmos - immunology; Gangliosides - immunology; Glycoproteins - immunology; Graves Disease - immunology; Humans; Immunoglobulin Idiotypes - immunology; Membrane Proteins - immunology; Myxedema - immunology; Receptors, Thyrotropin - immunology
• ISSN: 0077-8923
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1986.tb20865.x

The present report summarizes experiments with monoclonal antibodies to the TSH receptor. The data provide further insight into the TSH receptor structure and into the basis of autoimmune antibodies implicated in the pathogenesis of Graves' disease. They resolve many clinical questions and provide new approaches to enhance our understanding of autoimmune disease. In one new approach, it has been noted that the 11E8 TBIAb can precipitate the phosphorylated beta subunit of the insulin and IGF1 receptor. This cross-reactivity or recognition of determinants adjacent to the TSH receptor may not be random. Insulin, IGF1, alpha 1 adrenergic, and TSH receptors have been linked to a synergistic cascade response system of the thyroid involving growth, thyroglobulin biosynthesis, iodination of thyroglobulin, and thyroid hormone formation. Future studies with the monoclonals may help unravel this cascade system and its regulatory relationships, along with the relationships between autoimmune thyroid disease and autoimmune diseases of other organs.