Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) levels in children with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Objective: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) was described many years ago, but the etiopathogenesis remains unclear. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) initiates complement activation in the lectin pathway. We determined MBL levels in children with HT and the associations thereof with thyroid hormone and thyroid autoantibody levels.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients with HT and 41 controls were enrolled from the pediatric outpatient clinics. Subjects were grouped according to their thyroid functions: Euthyroid, marked hypothyroidism and clinical/subclinical hyperthyroidism. MBL levels were compared among these groups. Serum MBL levels of the subjects were determined using MBL Human ELISA kit.

Results: Serum MBL levels were studied in serum samples from the 80 subjects (48 (60.0%) females). MBL levels in HT and control groups were 50.787±34.718 and 50.593±44.28 ng/ml (p=0,983), respectively. In HT group, there was no significant difference in MBL levels between thyroid function groups (p=0.869). In addition, gender was not detected as a factor for serum MBL levels. Also we found negative correlation between WBC and serum MBL levels (r=-0.532; p=0.050). Otherwise there was no correlation between TSH, anti-TPO and anti-TG with serum MBL levels.

Conclusion: MBL levels did not decrease in HT patients. Further research is needed to elucidate more fully any role for MBL in the development of autoimmune thyroid disease.