Anti-thyroid autoantibodies

Anti-thyroid autoantibodies (or simply anti-thyroid antibodies) are autoantibodies targeted against one or more components on the thyroid. The most clinically relevant anti-thyroid autoantibodies are anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO antibodies), thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAbs) and thyroglobulin antibodies. TRAbs are subdivided into activating, blocking and neutral antibodies, depending on their effect on the TSH receptor. Anti-sodium/Iodide (Anti–Na/I) symporter antibodies are a more recent discovery and their clinical relevance is still unknown. Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis are commonly associated with the presence of anti-thyroid autoantibodies. Although there is overlap, anti-TPO antibodies are most commonly associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and activating TRAbs are most commonly associated with Graves' disease. Thyroid microsomal antibodies were a group of anti-thyroid antibodies, they were renamed after the identification of their target antigen (TPO).<ref name = “doi 10.1016/S0889-8529(05)70189-4”/>