J Korean Soc Endocrinol.  1994 Sep;10(3):220-228.

The Effect of Tumor Necrosis Factor - α on the Thyroglobulin Synthesis and TSH Action in Cultured Porcine Thyroid Cells

• Jo JW
• Lee EJ
• Nam MS
• Nam SY
• Song YD
• Lim SK
• Lee HC
• Huh KB
• Kim KR

Abstract

Abnormal thyroid function is seen in a wide variety of patients with acute and chronic nonthyroidal-illness, consisting of reduction in both thyroid function and peripheral T_4 to T_3 conversion including decreased serum thyroxin(T_4), decreased triiodothyronine and normal or slightly increased serum TSH. Recently increasing awareness of the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) in systemic illness led us to consider a possible contribution of TNF-alpha to thyroid dysfunction in this setting. So we hypothesized that TNF-alpha might affect the function of the thyroid gland. We, therefore, explored the effects of TNF-alpha on the cultured porcine thyroid cells in TSH-stimulated and TSH-nonstimulated conditions. Primarily cultured porcine thyroid cells were incubated with various concentrations(-500pg/ml) of recombinant buman TNF-alpha and bTSH(1mu/ml), with measurement of secreted thyroglobulin(Tg) and cyclic AMP(c-AMP) as the end points of stimulation, and produced intracellular Tg by pulse-labelling. TNF-alpha significantly inhibited TSH-stimulated intracellular Tg synthesis and extracellar Tg secretion at 200 and 500pg/ml concentration. TNF-alpha didn't affect c-AMP production at any concentration tested. So we conclude that increased in serum TNF-alpha may be responsible for reduced thyroid function in patients with acute and chronic nonthyroidal-illness.

MeSH Terms

Humans
Necrosis
Thyroglobulin*
Thyroid Gland*
Triiodothyronine
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*
Thyroglobulin
Triiodothyronine
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha