The site of the molecular defect in the thyroid gland of the hyt/hyt mouse: abnormalities in the TSH receptor-G protein complex

TSH receptor function is required for normal thyroid differentiation in zebrafish

TSH is the primary physiological regulator of thyroid gland function. The effects of TSH on thyroid cells are mediated via activation of its membrane receptor [TSH receptor (TSHR)]. In this study, we examined functional thyroid differentiation in zebrafish and characterized the role of TSHR signaling during thyroid organogenesis. Cloning of a cDNA encoding zebrafish Tshr showed conservation of primary structure and functional properties between zebrafish and mammalian TSHR. In situ hybridization confirmed that the thyroid is the major site of tshr expression during zebrafish development. In addition, we identified tpo, iyd, duox, and duoxa as novel thyroid differentiation markers in zebrafish. Temporal analyses of differentiation marker expression demonstrated the induction of an early thyroid differentiation program along with thyroid budding, followed by a delayed onset of duox and duoxa expression coincident with thyroid hormone synthesis. Furthermore, comparative analyses in mouse and zebrafish revealed for the first time a thyroid-enriched expression of cell death regulators of the B-cell lymphoma 2 family during early thyroid morphogenesis. Knockdown of tshr function by morpholino microinjection into embryos did not affect early thyroid morphogenesis but caused defects in later functional differentiation. The thyroid phenotype observed in tshr morphants at later stages comprised a reduction in number and size of functional follicles, down-regulation of differentiation markers, as well as reduced thyroid transcription factor expression. A comparison of our results with phenotypes observed in mouse models of defective TSHR and cAMP signaling highlights the value of zebrafish as a model to enhance the understanding of functional differentiation in the vertebrate thyroid.

The menace of endocrine disruptors on thyroid hormone physiology and their impact on intrauterine development

The delivery of the appropriate thyroid hormones quantity to target tissues in euthyroidism is the result of unopposed synthesis, transport, metabolism, and excretion of these hormones. Thyroid hormones homeostasis depends on the maintenance of the circulating 'free' thyroid hormone reserves and on the development of a dynamic balance between the 'free' hormones reserves and those of the 'bound' hormones with the transport proteins. Disturbance of this hormone system, which is in constant interaction with other hormone systems, leads to an adaptational counter-response targeting to re-establish a new homeostatic equilibrium. An excessive disturbance is likely to result, however, in hypo- or hyper- thyroid clinical states. Endocrine disruptors are chemical substances forming part of 'natural' contaminating agents found in most ecosystems. There is abundant evidence that several key components of the thyroid hormones homeostasis are susceptible to the action of endocrine disruptors. These chemicals include some chlorinated organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, herbicides, and pharmaceutical agents. Intrauterine exposure to endocrine disruptors that either mimic or antagonize thyroid hormones can produce permanent developmental disorders in the structure and functioning of the brain, leading to behavioral changes. Steroid receptors are important determinants of the consequences of endocrine disruptors. Their interaction with thyroid hormones complicates the effect of endocrine disruptors. The aim of this review is to present the effect of endocrine disruptors on thyroid hormones physiology and their potential impact on intrauterine development.

Thyrotropin receptor-associated diseases: from adenomata to Graves disease

The thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is a G protein-linked, 7-transmembrane domain (7-TMD) receptor that undergoes complex posttranslational processing unique to this glycoprotein receptor family. Due to its complex structure, TSHR appears to have unstable molecular integrity and a propensity toward over- or underactivity on the basis of point genetic mutations or antibody-induced structural changes. Hence, both germline and somatic mutations, commonly located in the transmembrane regions, may induce constitutive activation of the receptor, resulting in congenital hyperthyroidism or the development of actively secreting thyroid nodules. Similarly, mutations leading to structural alterations may induce constitutive inactivation and congenital hypothyroidism. The TSHR is also a primary antigen in autoimmune thyroid disease, and some TSHR antibodies may activate the receptor, while others inhibit its activation or have no influence on signal transduction at all, depending on how they influence the integrity of the structure. Clinical assays for such antibodies have improved significantly and are a useful addition to the investigative armamentarium. Furthermore, the relative instability of the receptor can result in shedding of the TSHR ectodomain, providing a source of antigen and activating the autoimmune response. However, it may also provide decoys for TSHR antibodies, thus influencing their biological action and clinical effects. This review discusses the role of the TSHR in the physiological and pathological stimulation of the thyroid.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor levels and binding affinity in the thyroid gland of growth-retarded mice

Growth-retarded (grt/grt) mice are congenitally primary hypothyroid. Our previous study indicated that thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) responsiveness was defective in the grt/grt thyroid gland. We now report additional studies of impaired grt/grt thyroid function. Semiquantitative RT-PCR confirmed that TSH receptor (TSHR) mRNA expression in the grt/grt thyroid was significantly decreased compared with +/+ thyroids. Scatchard analysis revealed that grt/grt and +/+ mice have only one type of TSH binding site. grt/grt thyroids had fewer TSH binding sites, although this did not apparently affect the affinity of TSH for its receptor. The present data suggest that reduced TSHR levels or defects in TSHR signaling could be one of the possible defective sites in the grt/grt thyroid gland.

A gnotobiotic transgenic mouse model for studying interactions between small intestinal enterocytes and intraepithelial lymphocytes

The mouse intestinal epithelium undergoes continuous renewal throughout life. Intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) represent a significant fraction of this epithelium and play an important role in intestinal mucosal barrier function. We have generated a germ-free transgenic mouse model to examine the effects of a genetically engineered proliferative abnormality in the principal epithelial cell lineage (enterocytes) on IEL census and on IEL-enterocytic cross-talk. SV40 large T antigen (TAg(Wt)) or a mutant derivative (TAg(K107/8)) that does not bind pRB was expressed in small intestinal villus enterocytes under the control of elements from the intestinal fatty acid binding protein gene (Fabpi). Quantitative immunohistochemical and flow cytometric analyses of conventionally raised and germ-free FVB/N Fabpi-TAg(Wt), Fabpi-TAg(K107/8), and nontransgenic mice disclosed that forced reentry of enterocytes into the cell cycle is accompanied by an influx of thymically educated alphabeta T cell receptor (TCR)(+) CD4(+) and alphabeta TCR(+) CD8alphabeta(+) IELs and a decrease in intestinally derived gammadelta TCR(+) CD8alphaalpha IELs. Real time quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR studies of jejunal villus epithelium recovered from germ-free transgenic and normal mice by laser capture microdissection and gammadelta TCR(+) jejunal IELs purified by flow cytometry disclosed that the proliferative abnormality is accompanied by decreased expression of enterocytic interleukin-7 as well as IEL interleukin-7Ralpha and transforming growth factor beta3. The analysis also revealed that normal villus epithelium expresses Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (Flt3), a known regulator of hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and neuronal cell survival, and its ligand (Flt3L). Epithelial expression of this receptor and its ligand is reduced by the proliferative abnormality, whereas IEL expression of Flt3L remains constant. Together, these findings demonstrate that changes in the proliferative status of the intestinal epithelium affects maturation of gammadelta TCR(+) IELs and produces an influx of alphabeta TCR(+) IELs even in the absence of a microflora.

Ligands and activators of nuclear hormone receptors regulate epidermal differentiation during fetal rat skin development

Because a protective barrier is essential for life, the development of the epidermis and stratum corneum must be completed prior to birth. The epidermal permeability barrier is comprised of corneocytes embedded in a lipid enriched matrix. Recent studies from our laboratory, using an explant model of fetal rat skin development that closely parallels in utero development, have shown that hormones and other activators of members of the nuclear receptor family regulate permeability barrier ontogenesis by stimulating lipid metabolism and the formation of the extracellular lipid lamellae. Using this model we sought to determine whether these hormones and nuclear activators also regulate keratinocyte differentiation during fetal development. Profilaggrin/filaggrin and loricrin expression, assessed by in situ hybridization and by immunohistochemistry, were progressively increased during epidermal ontogenesis. Whereas profilaggrin/filaggrin and loricrin were not expressed at day 17 of gestation, by day 19 both were present in the upper layers of the epidermis and both became still more abundant by day 21. These developmental changes also occurred in fetal skin explants cultured in vitro for 4 d, although the expression levels did not appear as robust as in utero. Whereas neither profilaggrin/filaggrin nor loricrin were expressed in control explants cultured for 2 d, they were seen in explants treated with either thyroid hormone, glucocorticoids, or estrogens. In contrast, dihydrotestosterone treatment delayed the expression of profilaggrin/filaggrin and loricrin. Moreover, both clofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha ligand, and juvenile hormone III, a farnesoid X-activated receptor activator, markedly accelerated fetal epidermal differentiation, stimulating both profilaggrin/filaggrin and loricrin expression. Our results demonstrate that several hormones and activators of nuclear hormone receptors regulate epidermal differentiation during fetal development, affecting key constituents of both keratohyalin granules and the cornified envelope. Thus, a variety of ligands/activators of nuclear receptors accelerate not only permeability barrier ontogenesis, but also the expression of structural proteins essential for stratum corneum formation.

The effects of thyroid hormone level and action in developing brain: are these targets for the actions of polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins?

Alterations in thyroid hormone level or responsivity to thyroid hormone have significant neurologic sequelae throughout the life cycle. During fetal and early neonatal periods, disorders of thyroid hormone may lead to the development of motor and cognitive disorders. During childhood and adult life, thyroid hormone is required for neuronal maintenance as well as normal metabolic function. Those with an underlying disorder of thyroid hormone homeostasis or mitochondrial function may be at greater risk for developing cognitive, motor, or metabolic dysfunction upon exposure to substances which alter thyroid hormone economy. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins have been argued to interfere with thyroid hormone action and thus may affect the developing and mature brain. Animal models provide useful tools for studying the effects of thyroid hormone disorders and the effects of environmental endocrine disruptors. The congenitally hypothyroid, hyt/hyt, mouse exhibits abnormalities in both the cognitive and motor systems. In this mouse and other animal models of thyroid hormone disorders, delayed somatic and reflexive development are noted, as are permanent deficits in hearing and locomotor and adaptive motor behavior. This animal's behavioral abnormalities are predicated on anatomic abnormalities in the nervous system. In turn, these abnormalities are correlated with differences in neuronal structural proteins. In normal mice, the expression of mRNAs coding for these proteins occurs temporally with the onset of autonomous thyroid hormone production. The hyt/hyt mouse has a mutation in the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHr) gene which renders it incapable of transducing the TSH signal in the thyrocyte to produce thyroid hormone. Some behavioral and possibly some biochemical abnormalities in mice exposed to PCBs are similar to those seen in the hyt/hyt mouse. In addition to direct effects on brain development and neuronal maintenance, thyroid hormone is necessary for maintaining metabolic functioning through its influence on mitochondria. Because the brain is particularly sensitive to inadequate energy generation, disorders of thyroid hormone economy also indirectly impair brain functioning. Alterations in thyroid hormone level result in differing expression of mitochondrial genes. Mutations in these mitochondrial genes lead to well-recognized syndromes of encephalomyopathy, myopathy, and multisystem disorder. Hence, PCBs and dioxins, by possibly altering the thyroid hormone milieu, may alter the functioning of mitochondria in the generation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The use of animal models of thyroid hormone deficiency for behavioral, anatomic, histologic, and molecular comparison will help elucidate the mechanisms of action of these putative endocrine-disrupting compounds. The study of thyroid hormone disorders provides a template for relating thyroid hormone mediated effects on the brain to these compounds.

Hypothyroidism delays fetal stratum corneum development in mice

The epidermal permeability barrier, required for terrestrial life, is localized to lipid-enriched lamellar membranes in the extracellular spaces of the stratum corneum (SC). Immaturity of the SC is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in premature infants. Previous studies have shown that supraphysiologic concentrations of thyroid hormone accelerate epidermis/SC ontogenesis. Here we studied SC development in Hyt/Hyt mice who are genetically hypothyroid due to a mutation in the TSH receptor. In control mice on d 18 of gestation (term 19.5 d), only focal areas displayed a mature SC membrane pattern. By 19 d of gestation there was a mature multilayered SC with lamellar unit structures filling the extracellular spaces similar to that seen in mature mice. In Hyt/Hyt mice SC development was delayed at both 18 and 19 d of gestation. In both strains of mice, within the first day after birth there were no differences in epidermal or SC appearance, and the SC was fully mature. These findings indicate that thyroid hormone plays a physiologic role during normal intrauterine development of the SC. However, normal SC maturation ultimately occurs, indicating that thyroid hormone is not absolutely essential. Previous studies have shown that glucocorticoids accelerate SC development in euthyroid rats, and in the present study we demonstrate that glucocorticoids also accelerate SC ontogenesis in euthyroid mice. In contrast, in Hyt/Hyt mice glucocorticoids did not accelerate or normalize SC development, indicating that the glucocorticoid effect on SC maturation requires a euthyroid state or that glucocorticoids act via thyroid hormone. These studies demonstrate that thyroid hormone status is an important regulator of fetal SC development.

Local hormone networks and intestinal T cell homeostasis

Neuroendocrine hormones of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis can exert positive or negative immunoregulatory effects on intestinal lymphocytes. Small intestine epithelial cells were found to express receptors for thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and to be a primary source of intestine-derived thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The gene for the TSH receptor (TSH-R) was expressed in intestinal T cells but not in epithelial cells, which suggested a hormone-mediated link between lymphoid and nonhematopoietic components of the intestine. Because mice with congenitally mutant TSH-R (hyt/hyt mice) have a selectively impaired intestinal T cell repertoire, TSH may be a key immunoregulatory mediator in the intestine.

Biology of the congenitally hypothyroid hyt/hyt mouse

The hyt/hyt mouse has an autosomal recessive, fetal onset, characterized by severe hypothyroidism that persists throughout life and is a reliable model of human sporadic congenital hypothyroidism. The hypothyroidism in the hyt/hyt mouse reflects the hyporesponsiveness of the thyroid gland to thyrotropin (TSH). This is attributable to a point mutation of C to T at nucleotide position 1666, resulting in the replacement of a Pro with Leu at position 556 in transmembrane domain IV of the G protein-linked TSH receptor. This mutation leads to a reduction in all cAMP-regulated events, including thyroid hormone synthesis. The diminution in T3/T4 in serum and other organs, including the brain, also leads to alterations in the level and timing of expression of critical brain molecules, i.e. selected tubulin isoforms (M beta 5, M beta 2, and M alpha 1), microtubule associated proteins (MAPs), and myelin basic protein, as well as to changes in important neuronal cytoskeletal events, i.e. microtubule assembly and SCa and SCb axonal transport. In the hyt/hyt mouse, fetal hypothyroidism leads to reductions in M beta 5, M beta 2, and M alpha 1 mRNAs, important tubulin isoforms, and M beta 5 and M beta 2 proteins, which comprise the microtubules. These molecules are localized to layer V pyramidal neurons in the sensorimotor cortex, a site of differentiating neurons, as well as a site for localization of specific thyroid hormone receptors. These molecular abnormalities in specific cells and at specific times of development or maturation may contribute to the observed neuroanatomical abnormalities, i.e. altered neuronal process growth and maintenance, synaptogenesis, and myelination, in hypothyroid brain. Abnormal neuroanatomical development in selected brain regions may be the factor underlying the abnormalities in reflexive, locomotor, and adaptive behavior seen in the hyt/hyt mouse and other hypothyroid animals.

Dynamic regulation of intestinal immunity by hormones of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis

The role of the thymus in the development of murine small intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) has been a controversial topic for decades. This controversy has been further propagated by observations that differences in IEL repertoires vary according to the particular athymic animal model system used to study IELs. In an attempt to understand the bases for these differences, we have undertaken a series of experiments designed to explore the extent to which extraimmunologic events, in particular neuroendocrine factors, play a role in the development of extrathymic IELs. As discussed here, these studies indicate that hormones of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis exert either positive or negative regulatory effects on intestinal IELs, depending upon the particular hormone. Although the mechanisms by which HPT hormones influence IEL development and immune regulation have yet to be fully delineated, it appears that thyroid-stimulating hormone is a key mediator in this process, and that this may occur via local autocrine/paracrine responses within the intestine itself. The implications of these findings in the context of immunity and disease at the level of the gastrointestinal tract are discussed.

Hearing loss and cochlear abnormalities in the congenital hypothyroid (hyt/hyt) mouse

The congenital hypothyroid (hyt/hyt) mouse has been described as having a homozygous recessive mutation of a single locus on chromosome 12 which results in significant endocrine hypofunction and retarded growth. Although a distinct correlation between inherited hypothyroidism and hearing loss in humans exists, there has been no previous evaluation of the auditory system in these mutant mice. We determined hearing thresholds by auditory-evoked brainstem response testing and noted a 40-45 dB elevation in the hyt/hyt mouse compared to littermate heterozygote (hyt/+) animals and normal progenitor controls BALB/cByJ (+/+). Conventional light microscopy was used to examine the general anatomy of the cochlea in these animals, and the surface structure of the organ of Corti was further evaluated with scanning electron microscopy. Heterozygote and normal control mice had no significant abnormalities of the cochlea, however the hyt/hyt mice displayed consistent morphologic abnormalities of the stereocilia on both inner and outer hair cell systems. The surrounding and supporting cells were identified in the cochleas of the hypothyroid mouse and control animals and showed no significant histologic abnormalities. The auditory, histologic, and ultrastructural characterization of this model provides a foundation for evaluating the effects of true inherited hypothyroidism on auditory pathway development.

Hypothyroidism selectively reduces the rate and amount of transport for specific SCb proteins in the hyt/hyt mouse optic nerve

Thyroid hormone significantly affects molecular and neuroanatomical properties of the developing nervous system. Altered connectivity in hypothyroidism may reflect reductions in process growth, alterations in process maintenance, or changes in synaptogenesis or synaptic maintenance. These events are dependent on microtubules, neurofilaments, microfilaments, and associated molecular components. Reductions in delivery of microtubules and neurofilaments to the distal axon by slow component a (SCa) of axonal transport may contribute to the neuroanatomical abnormalities of hypothyroidism (Stein et al., J Neurosci Res 28:121-133, 1991). However, hypothyroidism might also affect the axon and synaptic connections by altering slow component b (SCb), which includes actin microfilaments and proteins that contribute to synaptic function, i.e., clathrin, HSC70 (clathrin uncoating ATPase), spectrin, and calmodulin. To determine the effect of hypothyroidism on SCb proteins, slow axonal transport was analyzed in optic nerves of hyt/hyt hypothyroid mice, which have severe primary hypothyroidism, and euthyroid control mice. Clathrin, spectrin, HSC70, and actin showed significant reductions in transport velocity in hyt/hyt optic nerves relative to euthyroid nerves, but the transport rate for calmodulin was less affected. However, the amount of calmodulin was significantly elevated in hyt/hyt nerve over euthyroid nerves. Hypothyroidism selectively reduces transport of SCb proteins, which are thought to play significant roles in synaptic function and in the growth cone. The effects of hypothyroidism on microtubules and neurofilaments combined with actions on SCb suggest that changes in neuronal function associated with reduced thyroid hormone during development and maturity (i.e., alterations in neuronal connectivity, nerve conduction, and synaptic function) may be mediated in part by effects on slow axonal transport.