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Thyroid Physiology  

 

Thyroid Hormone Synthesis   

 

DUNN

 

Update on intrathyroidal iodine metabolism.

Dunn JT, Dunn AD.

Thyroid. 2001 May;11(5):407-14. Review.

 

“The thyroid concentrates iodide from the serum and oxidizes it at the apical membrane, attaching it to tyrosyl residues within thyroglobulin (Tg) to make diiodotyrosine and monoiodotyrosine. Major players in this process are Tg, thyroperoxidase (TPO), hydrogen peroxide, pendrin, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). Further action of TPO, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and iodinated Tg produce thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Hormone-containing Tg is stored in the follicular lumen, then processed, most commonly by micropinocytosis. The lysosomal enzymes cathepsins B, L, and D are active in Tg proteolysis. Tg digestion leaves T4 and T3 intact, to be released from the cell, while the 3,5'-diiodotyrosine (DIT) and 3-iodotyrosine (MIT) are retained and deiodinated for recycling within the thyroid. Some areas of especially active recent research include: (1) the role of molecular chaperones in directing properly folded TPO and Tg to the apical membrane; (2) details of proteolytic pathways; (3) modulation of iodine metabolism, not only by thyrotropin (TSH) but by iodine supply and by feedback effects of Tg, glutathione, and inhibitory elements in the N-terminal region of Tg; and (4) details of Tg structure and iodotyrosyl coupling. Despite general agreement on the major steps in intrathyroidal iodine metabolism, new details of mechanisms are constantly being uncovered and are greatly improving understanding of the overall process.”

 

 

Chapter 2. Thyroid Hormone Synthesis and Secretion

Revised by Rousset BA, Dunn JT

 

"The main function of the thyroid gland is to make hormones, T4 and T3, which are essential for the regulation of metabolic processes throughout the body. As at any factory, effective production depends on three key components - adequate raw material, efficient machinery, and appropriate controls. Iodine is the critical raw material, because 65% of T4 weight is iodine. Ingested iodine is absorbed and carried in the circulation as iodide. The thyroid actively concentrates the iodide across the basolateral plasma membrane of thyrocytes by the sodium/iodide symporter, NIS. Intracellular iodide is then transported in the lumen of thyroid follicles. Meanwhile, the thyrocyte endoplasmic reticulum synthesizes two key proteins, TPO and Tg. Tg is a 660kDa glycoprotein secreted into the lumen of follicles, whose tyrosyls serve as substrate for iodination and hormone formation. TPO sits at the apical plasma membrane, where it reduces H2O2, elevating the oxidation state of iodide to an iodinating species, and attaches the iodine to tyrosyls in Tg. H2O2 is generated by an NADPH oxydase. Initial iodination of Tg produces MIT and DIT. Further iodination couples two residues of DIT, both still in peptide linkage, to produce T4, principally at residues 5 in the Tg polypeptide chain. When thyroid hormone is needed, Tg is internalized at the apical pole of thyrocytes, conveyed to endosomes and lysosomes and digested by proteases, particularly the endopeptidases cathepsins B, L, D and exopeptidases. After Tg digestion, T4 and T3 are released into the circulation. Nonhormonal iodine, about 70% of Tg iodine, is retrieved intrathyroidally by an iodotyrosine deiodinase and made available for recycling within the gland. TSH is the important stimulator that affects virtually every stage of thyroid hormone synthesis and release. Much of its control is on gene expression of key proteins. Iodine supply, either too much or too little, impairs adequate synthesis. Antithyroid drugs act by interfering with iodide oxidation. Genetic abnormalities in any of the key proteins, particularly NIS, TPO, and Tg, can produce goiter and hypothyroidism."

 

 

The importance of thyroglobulin structure for thyroid hormone biosynthesis.

Dunn JT, Dunn AD.

Biochimie. 1999 May;81(5):505-9. Review.

[abstract only]

 

"Thyroglobulin (Tg) is the most important protein in the thyroid because it provides the matrix for thyroid hormone biosynthesis. Here we review experimental work, principally from our laboratory, on the relationship between Tg structure and hormonogenesis. Early work showed that Tg's most important hormonogenic site was located in a fragment of approximately 26 kDa obtained on chemical reduction. With the establishment of the cDNA sequence of Tg, this and other major sites could be localized within Tg's polypeptide chain. The four major hormonogenic sites, designated A, B, C, and D, are located respectively at tyrosyls 5, 2553, 2746, and 1290. In most species, site A accounts for about 40% of Tg's hormone, and site B for about 25%. Site C is associated with increased T3, at least in some species. Site D is prominent in guinea pigs and rabbits, and TSH favors hormonogenesis at it in these species. Sequential iodination of low iodine human Tg shows three consensus sequences associated with early iodination and with T4 formation. Recent work has identified Tyr130 in beef Tg as donor of an outer iodothyronine ring, most likely to Tyr5, the most important hormonogenic site. In addition to its biochemical importance, Tg has clinical interest in familial goiter and autoimmune thyroid disease. Further elucidation of Tg structure and its relation to thyroid hormone synthesis will contribute to thyroid physiology and to its clinical application."

 

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