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Leucocyte migration into autoimmune diseased endocrine tissues

In this issue of European Journal of Endocrinology, Heufelder et al. (1) describe the isolation and culture of orbital endothelial cells derived from retroorbital connective tissue of patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy and their in vitro interaction with peripheral blood T lymphocytes. Maximum binding was observed between patients' T lymphocytes and endothelial cells when both cell types were activated, and cell–cell interaction was mediated by integrin-dependent (ICAM-1/LFA-1; VCAM-1/VLA-4) and integrin-independent (CD44) pathways. Isolated endothelial cells from patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy had a high basal expression of ICAM-1 and CD44 and, upon cytokine activation, also E-selectin (ELAM-1) and VCAM-1 expression was increased as compared to that from healthy individuals. The authors present a useful model for studying the mechanisms responsible for lymphocyte recruitment in endocrine autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmunity of endocrine organs is characterized by the development of autoantibodies and by the infiltration of leucocytes in the target tissue. Understanding of the events