Thyroid hormone synthesis

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Thyroid Gland - The Body's Thermostat

  • Key Player: Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) orchestrates oxidation, organification, and coupling.
  • Inhibitors: High iodine levels temporarily inhibit TPO (Wolff-Chaikoff effect).

Thyroid Hormone Synthesis Pathway in Follicular Cell

⭐ Propylthiouracil (PTU) and Methimazole inhibit TPO. PTU also blocks peripheral conversion of $T_4$ to $T_3$.

Hormone Factory - Building T3 & T4

Thyroid Hormone Synthesis and Secretion Pathway

  • Location: Thyroid follicular cell & colloid space.
  • Key Enzyme: Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO), involved in oxidation, organification, and coupling.

Wolff-Chaikoff Effect: High levels of iodide paradoxically inhibit TPO, temporarily shutting down hormone synthesis. This is a protective autoregulatory mechanism.

The Control Tower - HPT Axis

  • Driver: Hypothalamus releases Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone (TRH).
  • Relay: TRH stimulates Anterior Pituitary to secrete Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH).
  • Effector: TSH acts on the thyroid gland, stimulating T4 and T3 synthesis and release.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Thyroid (HPT) Axis

High-Yield: T3 is the principal mediator of negative feedback on the pituitary and hypothalamus, despite T4 being the major secreted hormone.

Factory Faults - Clinical Tie-ins

  • Wolff-Chaikoff Effect: Iodine overload transiently inhibits thyroid peroxidase (TPO) → ↓ T3/T4 synthesis. Healthy glands escape via ↓ NIS expression.
  • Jod-Basedow Phenomenon: Iodine load induces hyperthyroidism in pre-existing thyroid disease (e.g., nodular goiter).
  • Dyshormonogenesis: Inherited defects in hormone synthesis enzymes (e.g., TPO deficiency).
    • Leads to ↓ T3/T4, causing ↑ TSH stimulation and goiter.
    • A key cause of congenital hypothyroidism.

Pendred Syndrome: An autosomal recessive disorder featuring a defect in pendrin (an iodide-chloride transporter), leading to goiter and sensorineural deafness.

Thyroid Hormone Biosynthesis Pathway

High‑Yield Points - ⚡ Biggest Takeaways

  • Iodide trapping via the Na+/I- symporter (NIS) is the crucial first step, actively concentrating iodide in the thyroid.
  • Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is the key enzyme for both organification (iodination of thyroglobulin) and coupling of iodotyrosines.
  • Propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole are thionamides that inhibit TPO.
  • PTU also uniquely blocks the peripheral conversion of T4 to T3 by inhibiting 5'-deiodinase.
  • The Wolff-Chaikoff effect is the transient inhibition of organification by excess iodide.

Practice Questions: Thyroid hormone synthesis

Test your understanding with these related questions

A patient with Graves' disease is treated with thiocyanate (a historical antithyroid agent). Thiocyanate helps reduce thyroid hormone production by:

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Flashcards: Thyroid hormone synthesis

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Iodide is taken up into the thyroid follicular cell via _____.

TAP TO REVEAL ANSWER

Iodide is taken up into the thyroid follicular cell via _____.

Na+-iodide symporter

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