Hypothyroidism reduces GH synthesis and release in several mammalian species, in which thyroid hormone directly stimulates GH gene transcription. In contrast, hypothyroidism stimulates GH secretion in birds, in which thyroid hormone directly inhibits pituitary GH release. We have, therefore, investigated the effects of thyroid status on the accumulation of newly synthesized GH in the pituitaries of 8- to 10-week-old Leghorn cockerels in vitro and in vivo. The incorporation of [35S]methionine into immunoprecipitable GH ([35S] GH) was increased, over a 4-h incubation period, in glands from birds made hypothyroid by injections of methimazole (50 mg/kg day for 10 days) in comparison with glands from vehicle-injected controls. Treatment with tri-iodothyronine (T3, 100 μg/kg per day for 10 days) in vivo did not significantly alter the accumulation of [35S]GH in vitro but did block the release of [35S]GH in response to a GH secretagogue (thyrotrophin-releasing hormone; exposure to 280 nmol/l for 30 min) and reduced immunoassayable pituitary GH content. Pretreatment of glands from euthyroid birds with T3 (100 nmol/l) in vitro (for 20 h) reduced the basal accumulation of [35S]GH as well as that induced by another GH secretagogue (GH-releasing factor; 100 nmol/l) during a 6-h labelling period. These results show that, unlike the generally stimulatory action of thyroid hormone in mammals, in birds, T3 exerts a direct inhibitory effect on the accumulation of newly synthesized pituitary GH.
Journal of Endocrinology (1991) 131, 39–48
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