Defective Response of Natural Killer Activity to Thyroxine in Graves’ Disease

The effect of thyroxine (T(4)) on natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) was investigated, using a 4-hr (51)Cr release assay, in 18 patients with previously untreated Graves’ disease and in 18 controls. NK activity in patients with Graves disease was not significantly different from that in the controls. Normal T(4) (NT) and high T(4) (HT) medium, free T(4) concentrations in which were 1.01 and 16.3 ng/dl, respectively, were used to evaluate the effect of T(4) on NK activity. In the controls, NK activity increased in the NT or HT medium compared with that in the control medium at effector to target cell (E : T) ratios of 25 : 1 and 50 : 1. NK activity in the Graves’ disease patients, however, did not increase when either the NT or HT medium was used at E : T ratios of 25 : 1 and 50 : 1. These results suggest that patients with Graves’ disease have a similar NK activity to the controls but have a defect in the peripheral blood lymphocytes to increase NK activity in response to T(4).