Specific Clinical/Research Interest:
Mechanisms in autoimmune disease with an emphasis on autoimmune thyroid disease

Postdoctoral Fellows: Marco Agote-Robertson PhD, Sayed Moshad PhD, Chris Michalek MD, PhD, Risheng Ma, PhD

Research Personnel: Rauf Latif PhD, Xiaoming Yin PhD, Zhong Yao

Summary of Research Studies:
Research areas of emphasis include: The TSH receptor molecule: This is the major autoantigen in human Graves' disease which is a form of autoimmune hyperthyroidism. The TSHR remains an elusive quarry ten years after it was cloned becsue of its highly complex processing. Our emphasis is on the post translational processing events involved with multimerization and intramolecular cleavage of the TSHR and its status in lipid rafts. Complex Genetics: The aim of this research has been to detect the susceptibility genes for autoimmune thyroid disease using genome screening of informative families with Graves' disease and/or Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Our group has experience in the analysis of families with these disorders and we have a large collection of well characterized families to study. Currently, our areas of emphasis are on individual susceptibility genes. In particular the TSH receptor intron 1 region where we have identified miRNAs close to associated SNPs and the role of epigenetics(using X chromosome inactivation) in disease susceptibility and its influence on the autoimmune response. Animal models of autoimmune thyroid disease: We have developed models of hyperthyroid mice immunized with an adenoviral vector incorporating the TSH receptor as a model for Graves' disease. These studies involve the development and characterization of unique monoclonal antibodies to the TSH receptor with thyroid stimulating activity with an emphasis on epitope characterization and signal transduction.