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It is not clear whether the ophthalmopathy present in Graves'disease is related to autoimmune reactions to common thyroid/orbit components or is due to specific ocular antigens unrelated to the thyroid.In Graves' disease,serum antibodies to the thyrotropin receptor(TSH-R)can stimulate thyroid function,but no link between the TSH-R and ocular tissues has been found.We have shown,by polymerase chain reaction amplification of specific cDNA,that mature TSH-R mRNA is expressed in the retro-orbital tissue of both healthy subjects and patients with Graves'disease.Of other tissues and cells tested(fibroblasts,lymphocytes,muscle,and thyroid),only thyroid tissue expressed the TSH-R mRNA. |
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