Thyroid Hormone Availability and Action during Brain Development in Rodents

• Published in: Frontiers in cellular neuroscience Vol. 11; p. 240
• Main Authors: Bárez-López, Soledad, Guadaño-Ferraz, Ana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 14-08-2017; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Animal models; Blood-brain barrier; brain; Cell activation; Endocrinology; Fetuses; Gene expression; Genetic engineering; Hormones; Hyperthyroidism; Hypothyroidism; MCT8; Menopause; Metabolism; Neurodevelopment; Neuroscience; Ontogeny; Prenatal development; Rodents; Secretion; Thyroid gland; Thyroid hormones; type 2 deiodinase; Spain; neurodevelopment; type 2 deiodinase; thyroid hormones; brain; MCT8; rodents; brain barriers
• DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00240
• EISSN: 1662-5102

Thyroid hormones (THs) play an essential role in the development of all vertebrates; in particular adequate TH content is crucial for proper neurodevelopment. TH availability and action in the brain are precisely regulated by several mechanisms, including the secretion of THs by the thyroid gland, the transport of THs to the brain and neural cells, THs activation and inactivation by the metabolic enzymes deiodinases and, in the fetus, transplacental passage of maternal THs. Although these mechanisms have been extensively studied in rats, in the last decade, models of genetically modified mice have been more frequently used to understand the role of the main proteins involved in TH signaling in health and disease. Despite this, there is little knowledge about the mechanisms underlying THs availability in the mouse brain. This mini-review article gathers information from findings in rats, and the latest findings in mice regarding the ontogeny of TH action and the sources of THs to the brain, with special focus on neurodevelopmental stages. Unraveling TH economy and action in the mouse brain may help to better understand the physiology and pathophysiology of TH signaling in brain and may contribute to addressing the neurological alterations due to hypo and hyperthyroidism and TH resistance syndromes.