First automated assay for thyrotropin receptor autoantibodies.

Background: Hyperthyroidism in Graves' disease (GD) is often associated with the production of autoantibodies (TRAb) to the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR). Current manual second generation TRAb assays demonstrate high clinical sensitivity, but are labor-intensive and time consuming. Until recently, technical difficulties prevented the availability of an automatic TRAb assay.

Methods: Development of a fast and fully automated TRAb assay on the Elecsys/cobas e electrochemiluminescence immunoassay platform.

Results: A labeled thyroid-stimulating human monoclonal TSHR autoantibody (M22) was used in an automated M22-binding inhibition assay. TRAb are detected by their ability to competitively inhibit M22-binding to solubilized porcine TSHR (pTSHR). High clinical sensitivity could be maintained by assembling multiple TSHR binding sites within a soluble oligomeric immunocomplex for improved TRAb binding. Requirement of sufficient on board stability of the delicate TSHR structure in solution for several days was met by pre-complexation of the pTSHR with a capture antibody to its C-terminus in combination with the use of structure-stabilizing chemical chaperones. Total imprecision coefficient of variation (CV) at 1.71 (approximate cut-off) was found to be 11.4%. TRAb results were available within 30 min.

Conclusions: Availability of a fast and automatic TRAb assay offers an attractive alternative to the manual TRAb assays for the differential diagnosis of hyperthyroidism.