Cytometric analysis of perforin expression in NK cells, CD8+, and CD4+ lymphocytes in children with autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis--a preliminary study.

Perforin plays an essential role in cytotoxicity of natural killers (NK) and CD8+ lymphocytes. Cytotoxicity of T and NK cells is one of the mechanisms of destruction of cells in Hashimoto's disease (HD). The aim of this study was analysis of the expression of perforin in CD8+, CD4+, and NK cells and cytotoxic abilities of these cells in children with HD compared to healthy controls. The expression of perforin and surface antigens, as well as cytotoxicity were analyzed with a flow cytometry. Lower expression of perforin in CD8+ and NK was found in HD compared to controls (p = 0.01; p = 0.004). A significant correlation between perforin expression in CD8+ lymphocytes and in NK was observed (p = 0.05). The spontaneous cytotoxicity of NK was significantly higher in HD compared to controls (p = 0.04). Our results suggest that perforin plays an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis.