Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Autoimmune Thyroid Disease (AITD) is a common disease, accounting for 1-4% of the overall episode. Regulatory T Cells are a substructure of CD4+ T cells that have received great attention for their role in maintaining tolerance by suppressing the growth response and preventing autoimmune diseases. Arachidonic Acid is found in cell membrane phospholipids and is the lipid mediator affected by the inactivation of bacteria. We aimed to determine the change in Regulatory T Cell and Arachidonic Acid levels in Autoimmune Thyroiditis patients compared to healthy controls.

Materials and Methods: The scope of the study was conducted at S.B.Ü. between 01.04.2023 and 01.04.2024. Patients and healthy volunteers who applied to the Internal Medicine and Endocrinology Polyclinics of Sultan Abdülhamid Han Training and Research Hospital were recruited. A total of 42 people, 12 men and 30 women, aged between 21 and 76, participated in the study. 13 of them are in the healthy control group, 14 in the Hashimoto Thyroiditis group and 15 in the Graves’ Disease group. Peripheral blood samples were taken and Human Arachidonic Acid and Human T-Cell Immune Regulator 1 Elisa Kits were tested in these samples and measured at the level.

Results: There was no significant difference in serum Treg levels between Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Graves’ patients and the control group (P=0.884, P=0.765, P=0.663, respectively). Arachidonic Acid levels were found to be higher in Hashimoto Thyroiditis and Graves patients than in the control group, but were not found to be statistically significant (P=0.081, P=0.369, P=0.844, respectively). Anti-TPO, Anti-Thyroglobin and TRAB were examined separately in the Healthy, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Graves’ Disease groups for comparison purposes between individuals with high and normal arachidonic acid levels, and no significant results were found.

Conclusion: In this study, in Autoimmune Thyroiditis Patients; It was observed that there was no statistically significant difference in the amount of T Regulatory Cells and Arachidonic Acid in serum. More studies are needed to clarify the contradictory results in the literature regarding the amount and function of Arachidonic Acid and Treg Cells, and to develop genetic data that predict AITD and diagnostic tests that can measure the functions of Treg Cells.