Endocrine Abstracts

Thyroid hormone is essential for the metabolic function of all tissues throughout life and for the development of different organs, notably the brain. Although the thyroid gland mainly secretes T4, most actions of thyroid hormone are initiated by binding of T3 to its nuclear receptor. The biological activity of thyroid hormone in target cells is determined by the intracellular T3 concentration which depends on the circulating levels of T3 and its precursor T4, the activity of ...

Both thyroid dysfunction and psychological morbidity are common in the general population. Association between mood disorders and overt thyroid dysfunction are well established. Hypothyroid patients are more prone to depression and anxiety is a frequently reported symptom in thyrotoxicosis. However, the relationship between thyroid hormones in the normal range and psychological well being has not been established.In this study we analysed the relationshi...

Introduction: The biological activity of thyroid hormone (TH) is largely mediated by binding of T3 to nuclear T3 receptors (TRs). Before TH can mediate its effects, it needs to be transported across the plasma membrane. Several TH transporters, such as MCT8, facilitate this transport. Inactivating mutations in MCT8 lead to a severe phenotype of psychomotor retardation. In addition to transport into the cell, MCT8 is also able to transport TH out of the ce...

The importance of thyroid hormone (TH) transporters for brain development has been unequivocally demonstrated by the identification of mutations in the transporter MCT8. Patients have mental retardation, hypotonia and low body weight (BW). Their biochemical phenotype typically shows high serum T3, low serum T4 and normal TSH levels. Recently, it has been shown that MCT8 is prerequisite for normal TH release from the thyroid. To date, no curative therapy i...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a significant cause of perinatal morbidity, in particular neurodevelopmental delay, and is associated with fetal hypothyroxinemia. Thyroid hormone is essential for the optimal development of the central nervous system (CNS) in the fetus. Transport of the active ligand triiodothyronine (T3) across the cell membrane is required for its biological effects, initiated by binding of T3 to nuclear thyroid receptors (TR). Recently, the membran...

Introduction: Maternal hypo- and hyperthyroidism during pregnancy have been associated with high and low birth weights, which predispose for various diseases later in life, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, the effects of variation in maternal thyroid hormone levels within the normal range on fetal growth and birth weight are largely unknown.Methods: First trimester serum TSH, FT4 and TPO-antibody (TPOab) levels were determi...

Since the first identification of DUOX2 as an actor in the pathogenesis of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), several mutations have been associated with transient or permanent CH, with a high intra- and interfamilial phenotypic variability. In the present study, we report clinical and molecular studies of 7 unrelated children and 2 couple of siblings affected with CH and partial iodide organification defect (PIOD).We identified nine novel and five previous...