D. S. Munro

THE ASSAY OF GRAVES’IMMUNOGLOBULINS: A COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT METHODS

A multiplicity of techniques has arisen for the measurement of the immunoglobulins specifically associated with Graves’hyperthyroidism, which has led to difficulty in assessing the clinical significance of these immunoglobulins. In this study of untreated toxic Graves’disease we have taken two assays (LATS protector and thyrotrophin binding inhibiting immunoglobulin, TBII) which depend upon the measurement of binding to thyroid cell membranes, and correlated them with a bioassay which measures as the index of activity the biologically relevant end point of T3 secretion from thyroid tissue.

The lipolytic activity of long-acting thyroid stimulator

Abstract γG-globulin prepared from long-acting thyroid stimulator (LATS) serum was tested for lipolytic activity using isolated rat fat cells. Glycerol release was increased when fat cells were incubated with LATS-γG-globulin. The lipolytic activity of LATS-γG-globulin was potentiated by theophylline and triiodothyronine, and diminished by prostaglandin E1. This suggests that the lipolytic action of LATS is similar to that of thyroid stimulating hormone.