Contrasting Roles of IFN-γ in Murine Models of Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), a prototypic proinflammatory cytokine produced by several different cell types, including the Th1 subset of CD4+ T cells, plays an important role in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. This review focuses on the varied and often contrasting roles of IFN-γ in three murine models of autoimmune thyroid disease, experimentally induced autoimmune thyroiditis, the model of iodine-induced spontaneous autoimmune thyroiditis in NOD.H-2h4 mice and several different murine models of Graves' disease.