In order to study the effects of various steroid hormones on the thyroid gland of normal and hypophysectomized adult rats, histological and physiological investigations were carried out by means of isotope I
131.
Testosterone propionate, methyltestosterone (2 and 2.5mg intramuscular, daily) and methyl-androstenediol (1, 5 and 10mg intramuscular or per os, daily) were separately administered for 15-37 days. In normal rats, proliferation as struma parenchymatosa was observed and thyroid weight, mitotic activity, RNA content of epitheliar cell, I
131 uptake by thyroid and protein bound I
131 (PBI
131) content of plasma were all increased. Therefore, these hormones were supposed to promote the thyroid activity. In hypophysectomized rats, also, mitotic figures of epitheliar cell were observed when examined with colchitin, and increase of thyroid weight,I
131 uptake by thyroid and PBI
131 content of plasma was prominent in hormone treated group.Above androgens might, therefore, be considered to stimulate the thyroid epithel and to promote the thyroid function moderately, without hypophysis.
Hexesterol of 5 gamma per day for 10 days raised the percentage of I
131 accumulated inthyroid gland, both in normal and hypophysectomized rats.
When estradiol of 15, 30, 50 and 100 gamma per day was injected for 10-30 days, thyroid weight and histological proliferation increased in proportion to dosage. However, I
131 accumulation rate of thyroid and PBI
131 content of plasma showed decrease, when administered 30 and 50 gamma daily for 30 days. In this case, higher doses of estradiol may have influence upon thyroid gland through pituito-adrenocortical axis, playing as a sort of stress, by increase both in adrenal weight and in functional activation of adrenal cortex.
After treatment with hexestrol (50 gamma daily) and α- (methoxyphenyl)-β,β-diphenylacrylonitrile (1mg daily) for 30 days, these artificial estrogens produced histological thyroid proliferation, but no significant change was observed in I
131 distribution of plasma and thyroid.
When progesterone 1mg daily was given for 10 days, histological appearance as struma colloides was frequently observed in normal rats, but in all animals which were treated for 30 days, increase of thyroid weight and tendency to proliferation of follicular epithel were proved. In the latter group, higher value was obtained in I
131 accumulation rate of thyroid gland and PBI
131 content of plasma. Tendency to proliferation was more prominent when 5 mg of progesterone was injected daily for 27 days, whereas I
131 uptake by thyroid gland and PBI
131 content of plasma were rather decreased.
In normal rats, increase of thyroid weight and poliferation as struma parenchymatosa were produced by the injection of cortisone acetate (1.25-2.5 mg daily) and ACTH (4-10 mg daily) for 15-30 days, while I
131 accumalation rate of thyroid and PBI
131 content of plasma were constantly suppressed by treatment of cortisone acetate. As total I
131 content of plasma also showed low value at 24 hours after injection of I
131, the writer is inclined to accept the hypothesis of Berson and Ingbar et al that iodine deficiency of body is caused by the increased output from kidney, when cortisone acetate is used.
With dosage of 5 mg daily for 30 days, desoxycorticosterone acetate induced an increase in thyroid weight and a marked decrease in the uptake of I
131 by the thyroid, but neither histological proliferation nor significant change in total I
131 and PBI
131 content of plasma observed.
Above mentioned follicular hormones (in higher doses), luteoid hormone and desoxycorticosterone acetate were given to hypophysectomized rat,
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