Biosynthesis of Thyroglobulin

A comparative review of the structure and biosynthesis of thyroglobulin

Thyroglobulin, the major iodoglycoprotein of the thyroid (Mr 669 kDa) has a sedimentation coefficient of 19 S and an isoelectric point (pI) of 4.4-4.7. The protein has been isolated and purified from saline extracts of the gland of several animal species, by methods such as ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and Sepharose 4B/6B gel-filtration. DEAE-cellulose chromatography of thyroglobulin from many species, by linear gradient, yielded a complex elution pattern, while camel thyroglobulin showed only a major and minor peak. As an iodoprotein, the protein has 0.1-2.0% iodine. The amino acid and iodoamino acid composition of thyroglobulins, in general, is similar. However, a high thyroxine content (15 mol/mol protein) has been noted for buffalo species. Asparagine or aspartic acid has been reported as the major N-terminal amino acid for thyroglobulins of several animal species whereas glutamic acid is the sole N-terminal amino acid for buffalo thyroglobulin. As a glycoprotein, thyroglobulin contains 8-10% total carbohydrate with galactose, mannose, fucose, N-acetyl glucosamine and sialic acid residues. The carbohydrate in the protein is distributed as two distinct units, A and B. In addition, human thyroglobulin has carbohydrate unit C. The occurrence of sulfate and phosphate as Gal-3-SO4 and Man-6-PO4, respectively, has been reported in few species. The quaternary structure of native thyroglobulin is comprised of two equal sized subunits of 330 kDa. However, the protein appears to contain 4-8 non-identical units in few species. The synthesis of thyroid hormones occurs in the matrix of the protein and is regulated by pituitary thyrotropin. The role of tyrosine residues 5 and 130 in thyroxine synthesis has been well documented.

Localization and development of immunoreactive triiodothyronine in thyroid glands of dogs and chickens

The localization of immunoreactive T3 was investigated in dog and chick thyroid glands either fixed in Bouin's solution or freeze-dried and fixed with paraformaldehyde vapor, and compared with localization of 19S-thyroglobulin. Freeze-drying followed by paraformaldehyde vapor was better for the demonstration of T3 than Bouin's solution; it gave a much stronger immunoreactivity for T3. This fixative was also excellent for the demonstration of thyroglobulin. The immunoreactive T3 was detected only in the colloid and was never observed in the follicular cells, although immunoreactive thyroglobulin was present not only in the colloid but also in the follicular cells. Subsequently, in dog fetuses and chick embryos the appearance and development of immunoreactive T3 were studied. At 40 days of gestation in dog fetuses and at 9 days of egg incubation in chick embryos, immunoreactive T3 was found in the colloid of primordial follicles coinciding with the formation of the colloid. The ability of embryonic thyroid glands to synthesize T3 seems to be linked to the organization of follicles. With progressing development, the follicles stored more colloid and immunoreactive T3 within the follicular lumina. Concentrations of immunoreactive T3 in thyroids from chickens at various stages of development were also studied by radioimmunoassay. The T3 concentration was first detected at 9 days of incubation and gradually increased with embryo age; it was related to the amounts of colloid stored in the follicles.

Iodination of thyroglobulin. An intracellular or extracellular process?

The location in the thyroid follicle of the iodination of thyroglobulin has been a matter of debate for several decades. This problem is not a question of mere academic interest. Knowledge of the locus--or loci--of iodination is necessary for a full understanding of the mechanisms involved in thyroid-hormone synthesis and release. In the discussion about this problem 3 fundamentally different views have been--and still are--advocated. The first view implies that the site of iodination is the follicle lumen, the second that iodination is an intracellular process restricted to some organelle(s) in the follicle cells and the third that iodination occurs at the interface between the follicle cells and the follicle lumen. Below I will survey the major observations on which these different opinions are based and discuss the validity of the interpretations.

Immunochemical and immunohistochemical studies on the 27 S iodoprotein of dog thyroid with reference to thyroglobulin-like reaction of the parafollicular cells

Our earlier finding that the thyroglobulin-like material responsible for the immunoreaction of parafollicular cells obtained in peak I fraction of Bio-Gel A-5m was followed up in the present study by an investigation of the immunochemical and immunohistochemical reactions of 27 S iodoprotein which was the most prominent material in the peak I fraction. The antibody was raised against completely purified 27 S iodoprotein which was obtained as follows: Thyroglobulin was extracted from dog thyroids and chromatographed initially on Bio-Gel A-5m and then on Bio-Gel A-50m. The area of 27 S migrated as a single bank on polyacrylamide gel slab electrophoresis. This was cut and eluted. Anti-27 S antiserum showed the same immunochemical patterns to 27 S and 19 S as anti-19 S antiserum with three different immunochemical methods: double diffusion test, one dimensional and two dimensional immunoelectrophoresis. The immunoperoxidase reactions of the anti-27 S antiserum and anti-19 S antiserum were restricted to follicular cells and luminal colloids. No reaction of the parafollicular cells was obtained by these antisera. Thus, 27 S iodoprotein shared common immunochemical and immunohistochemical properties with 19 S thyroglobulin. It was concluded that 27 S iodoprotein was not responsible for the thyroglobulin-like reaction of the parafollicular cells.

Purification and some properties of microsome-bound thyroglobulins

The sonicate of microsomal fraction of hog thyroid was found to contain two species of proteins which reacted with anti-thyroglobulin antiserum and corresponded to 2 to 3% of total protein of the fraction. The two species were purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, repeated sucrose density gradient centrifugations and separated from each other by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into S-mb thyroglobulin (the slower-migrating microsomal-bound fraction), F-mb thyroglobulin (the faster-migrating microsomal-bound fraction), and thyroglobulin itself. Amino acid compositions of the proteins were essentially the same as that of thyroglobulin. Mannose contents also were close to that of thyroglobulin while galactose and fucose contents decreased in the order: thyroglobulin, F-mb thyroglobulin and S-mb thyroglobulin. S-mb thyroglobulin had no sialic acid and no iodine at all. F-mb thyroglobulin was sialylated to an extent of less than 80% of, and iodinated to an extent of less than 50% of that of thyroglobulin, respectively. Antigenic activities of F-mb thyroglobulin and of S-mb thyroglobulin were qualitatively the same as, but quantitatively less than, that of thyroglobulin. Sedimentation coefficients of S-mb thyroglobulin and F-mb thyroglobulin were approximately 1 S lower than that of thyroglobulin. All the properties of the thyroglobulin-related proteins suggested that S-mb thyroglobulin and F-mb thyroglobulin were the products by the sequential modification of thyroglobulin polypeptide in the pathway of thyroid hormone production.

9 S thyroid particulate iodoprotein

Particulate iodoproteins have been studied in the rat thyroid gland using the isotopic 125I equilibration method. Pulse experiments were also performed with a second isotope, 131I. Labelled iodoproteins, both soluble and solubilized by digitonin from the thyroid particulate material, were analyzed by sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation. 1. At isotopic equilibrium and irrespective of the iodide content of the diet two particulate iodoproteins, with sedimentation coefficients of 27 and 19 S, were solubilized by digitonin. In addition a 9 S iodoprotein was also present but its proportion varied markedly with the iodine content of the diet: it accounted for 50-60% of the label found at the particulate level when the dialy diet of iodine was high (75-500 mug/day) but was almost absent when the diet was only 2 mug/day. 2. Most of this 9 S protein was found in the 600-15 000 times g particulate pellet, i.e. a fraction enriched in lysosomes and phagolysosomes. 3. The iodoamino acid composition of the 9 S fraction was very similar to that of the 19 S particulate thyroglobulin: its hormone content was 19%. 4. The double precipitation technique showed that the 9 S fraction is immunochemically related to thyroglobulin. 5. Pulse experiments showed that the 9 S particulate iodoprotein was slowly labelled by 131I. 6. The amount of 9 S iodoprotein was increased by thyrotropin (30-40% increase versus control experiments 5 min after thyrotropin injection). These properties of the 9 S particulate iodoprotein are discussed in relation to the assumption that it might be a product of partial proteolysis of thyroglobulin after endocytosis and partial digestion by the phagolysosomes.

Electron microscopy of low iodinated thyroglobulin molecules

Thyroglobulin molecules were studied in the electron microscope with negative staining technique. In a first series of experiments samples of thyroglobulin varying in iodine content from 0.5 to 0.03% were prepared from the thyroids of mice and rats kept on iodine-poor diets. All samples contained thyroglobulin molecules of the normal ovoid shape, not deviating in size or shape from molecules obtained from normal thyroids. However, in addition, another type of molecule having a cylindrical shape was observed in all samples. The proportion of these cylindrical molecules increased from a few per cent in the moderately iodine-poor thyroglobulin samples to more than 80% in the highly iodine-deficient thyroglobulin (0.03%). In a second series of experiments extremely iodine-poor thyroglobulin (smaller than 0.005%) was obtained from propylthiouracil-treated rats. In these preparations practically all molecules had a cylindrical shape. These samples also contained smaller particles interpreted to be dissociation products. The cylindrical molecules were of two types, one appearing compact and measuring 250 times 135 A (length times diameter) and the other appearing porous and having a length of 145 and a diameter of 205 A. It is concluded that the cylindrical molecules represent non- or low-iodinated thyroglobulin and it is suggested that the porous cylindrical molecule is an unfolded form of the compact cylinder.

Iodination in relation to thyroglobulin maturation and subunit aggregation

Noniodinated subunits of thyroglobulin can aggregate, but iodination of the aggregate is required for its stabilization (maturation). Rat-thyroid slices incorporate amino acids into subunits, but cannot form mature thyroglobulin from the newly synthesized subunits. This defect leads to an accumulation of 16S and 12S proteins, although the preexisting thyroglobulin is 19S. Accumulation of 16S and 12S proteins can be produced in rat thyroids by the administration to the animals of a thiocarbamide derivative, methimazole. Upon withdrawal of methimazole, iodination of the 16S and 12S proteins proceeds, and 19S protein appears.