Effects of Green Tea Polyphenols on Iodide-Induced Autoimmune Thyroiditis In Nonobese Diabetic Mice

Abstract

Because green tea polyphenols (GTPs) possess anti-inflammatory properties and are effective in inhibiting autoimmune diseases in experimental settings, we examined whether GTPs prevented the development of autoimmune thyroiditis in iodide-treated nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, an animal model of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). Mice were given 0.05% iodide water or iodide water supplemented with 0.2% GTPs for 8 weeks. GTPs administration led to an enhanced production of interleukin-10 by concanavalin A-stimulated splenocytes but did not interfere with thyroiditis development. Serum thyroxine levels were not influenced by GTPs. Our data suggest that administration of GTPs may not be an effective strategy for the prevention of HT.

• Green tea polyphenols
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Nonobese diabetic mouse
• Iodide

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank Noriko Tsuchiya for preparing and staining thyroid sections of NOD mice.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.