A Novel Long-Term Graves’ Disease Animal Model Confirmed by Functional Thyrotropin Receptor Antibodies

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> A novel long-term murine model for Graves’ disease (GD) using repeated, long-term immunizations with recombinant adenovirus expressing the extracellular A-subunit of the human thyrotropin receptor (Ad-TSHR) was applied to evaluate the functional anti-TSHR-antibody (TSHR-Ab) profile. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> BALB/c mice received 7 immunizations with either 10<sup>10</sup> plaque-forming units of Ad-TSHR or control Ad-GFP. Naïve (nonimmuized native) mice were also studied. Three 3-weekly immunizations were followed by 4-weekly boosts until the 7th immunization. Blocking (TBAb) and stimulating (TSAb) TSHR-Ab …