Immune Profile and Signal Transduction of T-Cell Receptor in Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Autoimmune thyroiditis is of great importance because of its prevalence in global population and represents an organ-specific immune dysfunction whose pathophysiological stages have not yet been fully elucidated. It is well accepted that, as in other autoimmune diseases, there is loss of tolerance to auto-antigens (such as thyroperoxidase or thyroglobulin) with subsequent abnormal lymphocyte activation fostering aggression to thyroid tissue.