interleukin-8 and Thyroid-Diseases

CXCL8 was the first chemokine shown to be secreted by thyrocytes. Experimental data suggest that CXCL8 plays a role in thyroid homeostasis but its role in thyroid diseases remains poorly investigated. Clinical studies measuring the serum levels of CXCL8 in patients with autoimmune-thyroid-diseases reported conflicting results. Solid evidences support a role of CXCL8 as a tumor-promoting agent in several human cancers. Studies in thyroid cancer are still in their initial stage, but promising. Several evidences indicate that thyroid cancer may share with other human malignancies some of the effects of CXCL8 and highlight the possibility of using CXCL8 as a marker of aggressiveness. Basic and clinical evidences in favor or against a role for CXCL8 in thyroid diseases are discussed.

Topics: Animals; Autoimmune Diseases; Humans; Interleukin-8; Neoplasms; Thyroid Diseases; Thyroid Gland

This study considered a possible relationship between the severity of oral lichen planus (OLP), serum anti-TPO autoantibodies (TPOAb) titer and thyroid disease in OLP patients. Forty-six OLP patients with positive TPOAb results (> 35 IU/ml) who had also been diagnosed with thyroid disease were included in the study group. The control group consisted of 46OLP patients with no thyroid disease. The study and control groups (92) were divided to two subgroups of erosive OLP (EOLP) and non-erosive OLP (NEOLP). Serum TPOAb levels and IL-8 (to measure OLP severity) were evaluated using the independent t-test, chi-square and conditional logistic regression analysis (α = 0.05). A significant positive correlation was found between serum IL-8 and TPOAb levels in the study group (r = 0.783; p = 0.001). The positive blood levels of TPOAb were significantly associated with an increased risk of EOLP (OR = 4.02 at 95%CI; 1.21-13.4; p = 0.023). It is possible to used positive serum TPOAb levels in patients with OLP as in indicator of possible undetected thyroid disorders in those patients. Because erosive OLP has been associated with TPOAb in thyroid patients, it may be useful to determine TPOAb levels of such patients to diagnose a possible undetected thyroid disorders and follow-up for malignancy.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Autoantibodies; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Female; Humans; Interleukin-8; Iodide Peroxidase; Lichen Planus, Oral; Male; Middle Aged; Reference Values; Severity of Illness Index; Statistics, Nonparametric; Thyroid Diseases; Thyroid Gland; Young Adult

Is thyroid hormones (TH) evaluation of clinical value in the work-up of males of infertile couples?. Our results suggest that TH evaluation is not mandatory in the work-up of male infertility.. A few previous studies performed on a limited series of subjects reported a negative impact of hyper- and hypo-thyroidism on semen volume, sperm concentration, progressive motility and normal morphology. No previous study has systematically evaluated associations between TH variation, semen parameters and ultrasound characteristics of the male genital tract.. Cross-sectional analysis of a consecutive series of 172 subjects seeking medical care for couple infertility from September 2010 to November 2014.. Of the entire cohort, 163 men (age 38.9 ± 8.0 years) free of genetic abnormalities were studied. All subjects underwent a complete andrological and physical examination, biochemical and hormonal assessment, scrotal and transrectal colour-Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) and semen analysis (including seminal interleukin 8 levels, sIL-8) evaluation within the same day.. Among the patients studied, 145 (88.9%) showed euthyroidism, 6 (3.7%) subclinical hyper- and 12 (7.4%) subclinical hypo-thyroidism. No subjects showed overt hyper- or hypo-thyroidism. At univariate analysis, no associations among thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or TH levels and sperm parameters were observed. Conversely, we observed positive associations among free triiodothyronine (fT3) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels, ejaculate volume and seminal fructose levels. In a multivariate model, after adjusting for confounders such as age, body mass index, smoking habit, sexual abstinence, calculated free testosterone, prolactin and sIL-8 levels, only the associations found for fT3 levels were confirmed. When CDUS features were investigated, using the same multivariate model, we found positive associations between fT3 levels and seminal vesicles (SV) volume, both before and after ejaculation (adj. r = 0.354 and adj. r = 0.318, both P < 0.0001), as well as with SV emptying (ΔSV volume; adj. r = 0.346, P < 0.0001) and echo-texture inhomogeneity. In addition, after adjusting for confounders, negative associations between fT4 levels and epididymal body and tail diameters were found. No significant associations between TSH or TH levels and CDUS features of other organs of the male genital tract, including testis and prostate, were found. Finally, when the features of subjects with euthyroidism, subclinical hypo- and hyper-thyroidism were compared, no significant differences in seminal or hormonal parameters were found. Conversely, evaluating CDUS parameters, subjects with subclinical hyperthyroidism showed a higher difference between the SV longitudinal diameters measured before and after ejaculation when compared with that of subclinical hypothyroid men, even after adjusting for confounders (P < 0.007). All the other male genital tract CDUS characteristics did not differ among groups.. First, the number of patients investigated is relatively small and those with (subclinical) thyroid dysfunctions are an even smaller number; hence, it is therefore difficult to draw firm conclusions. Moreover, the present results are derived from patients consulting an Italian Andrology Clinic for couple infertility, and could have different characteristics from the male general population or from those males consulting general practitioners for reasons other than couple infertility. Finally, due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, neither a causality hypothesis nor mechanistic models can be inferred.. Although no associations between TH and sperm parameters were observed, present data support a positive effect of TH on SV size and a permissive role on the ejaculatory machinery, likely through an action on SV and epididymal contractility. This is the first study reporting such evidence. However, in contrast with the view that TH assessment is important for female fertility, our results do not support a systematic evaluation of thyroid function in males of infertile couples. How TH abnormalities impact male fertility needs to be addressed by further studies.. No funding was received for the study. None of the authors have any conflict of interest to declare.

Topics: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fructose; Genitalia, Male; Humans; Infertility, Male; Interleukin-8; Male; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Semen; Semen Analysis; Testosterone; Thyroid Diseases; Thyroid Hormones

Chemokines induce leukocyte chemotaxis and contribute to chronic inflammation. To clarify the association between functional polymorphisms in genes encoding some chemokines and the pathogenesis of Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), we genotyped IL8 -251T/A, Regulated upon Activation, Normal T cell Expressed and presumably Secreted (RANTES) - 403G/A, -28C/G, MIG rs2276886G/A, IP10 -1596C/T, Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein1 (MCP1) - 2518G/A and IL16 -295T/C polymorphisms. We genotyped these polymorphisms using the PCR-RFLP method in 149 Graves' disease (GD) patients, including 59 patients with intractable GD and 53 patients with GD in remission, as well as 131 Hashimoto's disease (HD) patients, including 54 patients with severe HD, 46 patients with mild HD and 99 healthy controls. The IL8 -251TT genotype and MIG rs2276886 A allele were more frequent in patients with AITD (p = 0.0139 and p = 0.0005, respectively). The RANTES - 403AA and -28GG genotypes were less frequent in patients with AITD (p = 0.0164 and p = 0.0221, respectively). The MCP1 -2518GG genotype was more frequent in HD patients (p = 0.0323). The MIG rs2276886 AG genotype was less frequent in patients with intractable GD (p = 0.0051). Interestingly, the age of onset in GD patients with the RANTES - 28CC genotype was younger than in those with -28CG and GG genotypes (p = 0.0028). In this study, we first reported that the polymorphisms in IL8, RANTES and MIG genes are associated with the development of AITD, and that the MIG rs2276886 AG genotype is associated with the intractability of GD. The RANTES - 28CC genotype is associated with young onset of GD.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Alleles; Autoantibodies; Autoimmune Diseases; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Chemokine CCL2; Chemokine CCL5; Chemokine CXCL9; Chemokines; Female; Gene Frequency; Genetic Association Studies; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genotype; Graves Disease; Hashimoto Disease; Humans; Interleukin-16; Interleukin-8; Male; Middle Aged; Polymorphism, Genetic; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Receptors, Cytokine; Thyroid Diseases

Topics: Adult; Aged; Female; Humans; Interleukin-8; Male; Middle Aged; Thyroid Diseases