Iodine Excess as an Environmental Risk Factor for Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Yuqian Luo¹  Akira Kawashima¹  Yuko Ishido¹  Aya Yoshihara¹  Kenzaburo Oda¹  Naoki Hiroi²  Tetsuhide Ito³  Norihisa Ishii⁴ 

[1] Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics, Department of Mycobacteriology, Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Disease, 4-2-1 Aoba-cho, Higashimurayama-shi, Tokyo 189-0002, Japan; E-Mails:;Department of Education Planning and Development, Faculty of Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan; E-Mail:;Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan; E-Mail:;Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Disease, 4-2-1 Aoba-cho, Higashimurayama-shi, Tokyo 189-0002, Japan; E-Mail:

关键词: excess iodine;    autoimmune thyroid disease;    environmental toxicant;    immune response;    tissue injury;    thyroglobulin;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms150712895

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The global effort to prevent iodine deficiency disorders through iodine supplementation, such as universal salt iodization, has achieved impressive progress during the last few decades. However, iodine excess, due to extensive environmental iodine exposure in addition to poor monitoring, is currently a more frequent occurrence than iodine deficiency. Iodine excess is a precipitating environmental factor in the development of autoimmune thyroid disease. Excessive amounts of iodide have been linked to the development of autoimmune thyroiditis in humans and animals, while intrathyroidal depletion of iodine prevents disease in animal strains susceptible to severe thyroiditis. Although the mechanisms by which iodide induces thyroiditis are still unclear, several mechanisms have been proposed: (1) excess iodine induces the production of cytokines and chemokines that can recruit immunocompetent cells to the thyroid; (2) processing excess iodine in thyroid epithelial cells may result in elevated levels of oxidative stress, leading to harmful lipid oxidation and thyroid tissue injuries; and (3) iodine incorporation in the protein chain of thyroglobulin may augment the antigenicity of this molecule. This review will summarize the current knowledge regarding excess iodide as an environmental toxicant and relate it to the development of autoimmune thyroid disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.