In the field of autoimmune thyroiditis, NOD.H2h4 mice have attracted significant and increasing attention since they not only develop spontaneous disease but they present thyroiditis with accelerated incidence and severity if they ingest iodide through their drinking water. This animal model highlights the interplay between genetic and dietary factors in the triggering of autoimmune disease and offers new opportunities to study immunoregulatory parameters influenced by both genes and environment. Here, we review experimental findings with this mouse model of thyroiditis.
Keywords: NOD.H2h4 mice; iodine; thyroglobulin; thyroiditis.