Soluble CTLA-4 in autoimmune thyroid diseases: Relationship with clinical status and possible role in the immune response dysregulation

CTLA-4 molecule, expressed by activated T and B lymphocytes, transduces an inhibitory signal. Increasing evidence showed CTLA-4 gene as an important susceptibility locus for autoimmune endocrinopathies and other autoimmune disorders. The aim is to evaluate the augmented sCTLA-4 serum levels in different autoimmune thyroid diseases when compared with normal donors or with non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism and to investigate the functional activities and suggest the possible pathogenetic role of sCTLA-4. We demonstrate the presence of a soluble form of CTLA-4 in 59/90 sera from patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases (both Graves' disease and autoimmune thyroiditis). sCTLA-4 levels were not related to specific clinical manifestations, such as clinical thyroid status (hypo- or hyperthyroidism), circulating thyroid hormones, or other clinical features (ophthalmopathy). sCTLA-4 production does not seem to be affected by disease evolution during time. We showed that sCTLA-4 from sera of patients with thyroid autoimmunity is able to bind its physiological ligands CD80/CD86 and displays functional activities on different in vitro systems (T-cell proliferation induced by specific soluble antigens, bi-directional mixed lymphocyte reaction). In conclusion, we demonstrate an increment of sCTLA-4 in serum of patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases. Its possible pathogenetic role during autoimmune processes can be speculated: sCTLA-4 can specifically inhibit the early T-cell activation by blocking the interaction of CD80/CD86 with the co-stimulatory receptor CD28. Conversely, higher levels of sCTLA-4 could compete with membrane-bound CTLA-4 for CD80/CD86, in later T lymphocytes activation phase, causing a reduction of inhibitory signaling.