Although viral infection is thought to be associated with subacute thyroiditis and probably with autoimmune thyroid disease, possible changes in thyroid function during the prodromal period of infection or subclinical infection remain largely unknown. Recently, it was shown that pathogen-associated molecular patterns stimulate Toll-like receptors (TLR) and activate innate immune responses by producing type I interferons (IFN). Using a human thyroid follicle culture system, in which de novo synthesized thyroid hormones are released into the culture medium under physiological concentrations of hTSH, we studied the effects of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly(I:C)), a chemical analog of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), on TSH-induced thyroid function.

Thyrocytes expressed ligands for dsRNA (TLR 3, CD14, and RIG-1) comparable to the TSH receptor. DNA microarray and real-time PCR analyses revealed that dsRNA increased the expression of mRNA for TLR3, IFN-, interferon-regulating factors, proinflammatory cytokines, and class I MHC, whereas genes associated with thyroid hormonogenesis (NIS, peroxidase, deiodinases) were suppressed. In accordance to these data, Poly(I:C) suppressed TSH-induced ¹²⁵I uptake and hormone synthesis dose-dependently, accompanied by a decrease in the ratio of ¹²⁵I-T3/¹²⁵I-T4 released into the culture medium, whereas peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharides, or unmethylated CpG DNA, ligands for TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9, respectively, had no significant effect. These inhibitory effects of Poly(I:C) were not blocked by a neutralizing antibody against TLR3 and an anti-IFN / receptor antibody. These in vitro findings suggest that when thyrocytes are infected with certain viruses, dsRNA formed intracellularly in thyrocytes may be a cause for thyroid dysfunction, leading to development of autoimmune thyroiditis.