Involvement of Viral Infections in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Lymphocytic Thyroiditis

Involvement of Viral Infections in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Lymphocytic Thyroiditis

Autoimmune diseases represent a heterogeneous group of pathologies whose etiopathogenic mechanisms are most often unknown. Autoimmune diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young women and autoimmune thyroid diseases are the most common.

Viral infections are the main environmental factors suspected of triggering autoimmune diseases. Several viruses are certainly involved, all of which are possibly capable of triggering an autoimmune response. However, the precise identification of the viruses involved remains to be established.

It has been shown for the first time by the 2005 PHRC that enteroviral RNA is present in perioperative specimens of thyroid tissue. However, this case-control study did not show any difference between the thyroid group and the group other thyroid pathologies It has been recently published that Parvovirus is possibly involved in thyroiditis: the parvoviral genome is present in the thyroid tissue of Hashimoto thyroiditis operated and more precisely is present within the thyrocytes itself.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients participating in PHRC 2005 "involvement of enteroviruses in TLC pathogenesis"
• Inclusion of TLC: presence of a significant lymphocyte infiltrate within the thyroid parenchyma defined by the presence of clusters of more than 30 to 50 lymphocytes
• Inclusion of controls: absence of significant lymphocyte infiltrate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Persons refusing to participate in research