Endocrine Abstracts

The thyrotropin receptor (TSHr) is a glycoprotein hormone receptor controlling the thyroid growth and the thyroid hormones production, upon stimulation by its natural ligand, the thyrotropin hormone (TSH). In some pathological situations, this receptor is activated in the absence of TSH, either by autoantibodies from patients with Graves’ disease (an autoimmune thyroid disease where the TSHr is targeted and activated by autoantibodies), or by activating mutations (as obse...

Generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in thyroid cells is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormone. H2O2 is produced by the Dual Oxidase 2 (DUOX2) at the apical membrane of the thyrocyte, where it is required by thyroperoxidase for the iodination of thyroglobulin. A dual oxidase maturation factor 2 (DUOXA2) was recently identified as an endoplasmic reticulum-resident protein required for expression of DUOX2 activity. DUOX2 and...

The term nonthyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) refers to characteristic changes in thyroid hormone (TH) levels during illness and starvation. These changes are low T3 and high rT3 in serum and tissues, normal or low serum T4 and inappropriately normal or low serum TSH. It remains unclear whether NTIS is a beneficial adaptive response to reduce energy consumption, or a form of secondary hypothyroidism that requires TH treatment, and there is no clinical evidence that TH treatmen...

Thyroid hormones (TH) are endocrine molecules necessary for multiple biological processes that are crucial to tumor growth and differentiation. Several reports pointed out a pivotal role of thyroid status in the tumoral behavior.TH action is regulated by the action of the deiodinases. Type 2 deiodinase (D2) activates thyroxine (T4) by converting it to T3, whereas D3, by inactivating T3, terminates thyroid hormone action.Thus, the deiodinase family of sel...