Microcephalic cerebrum with hypomyelination in the congenital goiter mouse (cog)

Thyroid hormone: sex-dependent role in nervous system regulation and disease

Thyroid hormone (TH) regulates many functions including metabolism, cell differentiation, and nervous system development. Alteration of thyroid hormone level in the body can lead to nervous system-related problems linked to cognition, visual attention, visual processing, motor skills, language, and memory skills. TH has also been associated with neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. Males and females display sex-specific differences in neuronal signaling. Steroid hormones including testosterone and estrogen are considered to be the prime regulators for programing the neuronal signaling in a male- and female-specific manner. However, other than steroid hormones, TH could also be one of the key signaling molecules to regulate different brain signaling in a male- and female-specific manner. Thyroid-related diseases and neurological diseases show sex-specific incidence; however, the molecular mechanisms behind this are not clear. Hence, it will be very beneficial to understand how TH acts in male and female brains and what are the critical genes and signaling networks. In this review, we have highlighted the role of TH in nervous system regulation and disease outcome and given special emphasis on its sex-specific role in male and female brains. A network model is also presented that provides critical information on TH-regulated genes, signaling, and disease.

A single amino acid change in the acetylcholinesterase-like domain of thyroglobulin causes congenital goiter with hypothyroidism in the cog/cog mouse: a model of human endoplasmic reticulum storage diseases

Newly synthesized thyroglobulin (Tg), the major secretory glycoprotein of the thyroid gland, folds and homodimerizes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) before its export to the site of iodination, where it serves as the precursor for thyroid hormone synthesis. In families with defective Tg export, affected individuals suffer from a thyroidal ER storage disease characterized by a distended thyrocyte ER containing misfolded Tg, along with induced ER molecular chaperones. Inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, deficient Tg causes congenital hypothyroidism in newborns that, if untreated, results in goiter along with serious cognitive and growth defects. Recently, a similar phenotype has been observed in inbred cog/cog mice, although the precise molecular defect has remained undefined. Here, we have isolated and cloned a full-length 8.5-kb Tg cDNA from cog/cog mice and unaffected isogenic AKR/J mice. Comparison of the complete sequences reveals that cog/cog mice express a Leu-2263 --> Pro missense mutation in the acetylcholinesterase-homology domain of Tg. Heterologous expression studies in COS cells indicate that cog Tg exhibits a severe defect in exit from the ER. Site-directed mutagenesis of cog Tg to convert the single amino acid back to Leu-2263 restores normal Tg secretion. We conclude that the cog mutation in Tg is responsible for this ER storage disease that causes thyroid dyshormonogenesis.

Ventriculomegaly, delayed myelination, white matter hypoplasia, and "periventricular" leukomalacia: how are they related?

Preterm infants, including some who have sustained intracranial hemorrhage, appear to be at increased risk of lateral ventricular enlargement. Although some occurrences might be due to an impairment of cerebrospinal fluid flow or absorption, many instances of ventriculomegaly without accompanying macrocephaly reflect diffuse white matter damage resulting in diminished (i.e., hypoplastic) white matter or an inadequate density of axons. Perinatally acquired widespread white matter damage is sometimes associated with the focal white matter necrosis. We hypothesize that in some infants both ventriculomegaly and delayed myelination are consequences of disturbances to myelinogenesis that result from an impairment of cells destined to become oligodendroglia or of disturbances to rapidly growing axons. The vulnerability of developing white matter in preterm newborns might, in part, reflect the diminished availability of growth/ survival factors, or a vulnerability to toxins or physiologic perturbations. Awareness that some ventriculomegaly reflects widely distributed white matter damage should prevent overtreatment of what might appear to be hydrocephalus, but is not due to impaired cerebrospinal fluid dynamics. Increased understanding of the phenomena leading to ventriculomegaly related to paucity of white matter should lead to successful efforts to prevent white matter damage in preterm newborns.

An endoplasmic reticulum storage disease causing congenital goiter with hypothyroidism

In humans, deficient thyroglobulin (Tg, the thyroid prohormone) is an important cause of congenital hypothyroid goiter; further, homozygous mice expressing two cog/cog alleles (linked to the Tg locus) exhibit the same phenotype. Tg mutations might affect multiple different steps in thyroid hormone synthesis; however, the microscopic and biochemical phenotype tends to involve enlargement of the thyroid ER and accumulation of protein bands of M(r) < 100. To explore further the cell biology of this autosomal recessive illness, we have examined the folding and intracellular transport of newly synthesized Tg in cog/cog thyroid tissue. We find that mutant mice synthesize a full-length Tg, which appears to undergo normal N-linked glycosylation and glucose trimming. Nevertheless, in the mutant, Tg is deficient in the folding that leads to homodimerization, and there is a deficiency in the quantity of intracellular Tg transported to the distal portion of the secretory pathway. Indeed, we find that the underlying disorder in cog/cog mice is a thyroid ER storage disease, in which a temperature-sensitive Tg folding defect, in conjunction with normal ER quality control mechanisms, leads to defective Tg export. In relation to quality control, we find that the physiological response in this illness includes the specific induction of five molecular chaperones in the thyroid ER. Based on the pattern of chaperone binding, different potential roles for individual chaperones are suggested in glycoprotein folding, retention, and degradation in this ER storage disease.