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PubMed1985

[Antithyroid drug therapy in pregnancy. An indication for pregnancy interruption based on fetal indications?].

Antithyroid drugs can pass the placenta, in contrast to thyroid hormones. Therefore, their application in pregnancy carries the potential risks of teratogenic effects and foetal hypothyroidism. The actual danger to the foetus, however, is controversial. The history of a hyperthyroid patient treated with carbimazole and referred for termination of pregnancy in the 8th week of gestation gave rise to review the literature in order to elucidate the foetal risks. Data of 278 pregnant women treated with imidazole derivatives (group I) and 192 women, who received thiouracil derivatives (group II) during pregnancy, were found in the literature. The rates of foetal malformations and foetal goitre in group I were 3.6% and 3.2%, respectively. In group II the corresponding rates were 3.6% for foetal malformation and 7.8% for foetal goitre. From these figures we conclude that antithyroid therapy in pregnancy does not warrant termination of pregnancy for foetal reasons if there is meticulous control of maternal thyroid metabolism.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2002

Expression of bitter taste receptors of the T2R family in the gastrointestinal tract and enteroendocrine STC-1 cells.

Although a role for the gastric and intestinal mucosa in molecular sensing has been known for decades, the initial molecular recognition events that sense the chemical composition of the luminal contents has remained elusive. Here we identified putative taste receptor gene transcripts in the gastrointestinal tract. Our results, using reverse transcriptase-PCR, demonstrate the presence of transcripts corresponding to multiple members of the T2R family of bitter taste receptors in the antral and fundic gastric mucosa as well as in the lining of the duodenum. In addition, cDNA clones of T2R receptors were detected in a rat gastric endocrine cell cDNA library, suggesting that these receptors are expressed, at least partly, in enteroendocrine cells. Accordingly, expression of multiple T2R receptors also was found in STC-1 cells, an enteroendocrine cell line. The expression of alpha subunits of G proteins implicated in intracellular taste signal transduction, namely Galpha(gust), and Galpha(t)-(2), also was demonstrated in the gastrointestinal mucosa as well as in STC-1 cells, as revealed by reverse transcriptase-PCR and DNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. Furthermore, addition of compounds widely used in bitter taste signaling (e.g., denatonium, phenylthiocarbamide, 6-n-propil-2-thiouracil, and cycloheximide) to STC-1 cells promoted a rapid increase in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. These results demonstrate the expression of bitter taste receptors of the T2R family in the mouse and rat gastrointestinal tract.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Kinetics and mechanism of the DNA double helix invasion by pseudocomplementary peptide nucleic acids.

If adenines and thymines in two mutually complementary mixed-base peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers are substituted with diaminopurines and thiouracils, respectively, so-called pseudocomplementary PNAs (pcPNAs) are created. Pairs of pcPNAs have recently demonstrated an ability to highly selectively target essentially any designated site on double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) by forming very stable PNA-DNA strand-displacement complexes via double duplex invasion (helix invasion). These properties of pcPNAs make them unique and very promising ligands capable of denying the access of DNA-binding proteins to dsDNA. To elucidate the sequence-unrestricted mechanism of sequence-specific dsDNA recognition by pcPNAs, we have studied the kinetics of formation of corresponding PNA-DNA complexes at various temperatures by the gel-shift assay. In parallel, the conditions for possible self-hybridization of pcPNA oligomers have been assayed by mixing curve (Job plot) and thermal melting experiments. The data indicate that, at physiological temperatures ( approximately 37 degrees C), the equilibrium is shifted toward the pairing of corresponding pcPNAs with each other. This finding explains a linear concentration dependence, within the submicromolar range, of the pcPNA invasion rate into dsDNA at 37 degrees C. At elevated temperatures (>50 degrees C), the rather unstable pcPNA duplexes dissociate, yielding the expected quadratic dependence for the rate of pcPNA invasion on the PNA concentration. The polycationic character of pcPNA pairs, carrying the duplicated number of protonated terminal PNA residues commonly used to increase the PNA solubility and binding affinity, also explains the self-inhibition of pcPNA invasion observed at higher PNA concentrations. Melting of pcPNA duplexes occurs with the integral transition enthalpies ranged from -235 to -280 kJ.mol(-1), contributing to an anomalously high activation energy of approximately 150 kJ.mol(-1) found for the helix invasion of pcPNAs carrying four different nucleobases. A simplified kinetic model for pcPNAs helix invasion is proposed that interprets all unusual features of pcPNAs binding to dsDNA. Our findings have important implications for rational use of pcPNAs.

DNA↗
PubMed1975

Tertiary hydrogen bonds in the solution structure of transfer RNA.

The high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of hydrogen-bonded protons in four tRNAs have been studied at 270 MHz. The relative intensity of the resonances between -11 ppm and -15 ppm of Escherichia coli tRNA1-Va1 indicate that there are 26 plus or minus 3 protons, while only 20 are expected from secondary structure Watson-Crick hydrogen bonds inthe cloverleaf structure. Several possible candidates for these extra resonances are suggested by tertiary interactions observed in recent crystallographic studies. Of the four tRNAs studied, three, e.g., E. coli tRNA1Va1, E. coli tRNA-Arg and E. coli tRNA-Phe have one "GU pair" in their cloverleaf structure, while the fourth, yeast tRNA-Asp,has three "GU pairs" and one "G pair". Correlating these with the NMR spectra in the -10 ppm to -11 ppm region allows us to conclude that the "GU pairs" are not hydrogen-bonded by tautomerization to the lactim form. At the very low field region, near -14.9 ppm, the three E. coli tRNAs show a single resonance which is attributed to the 4-thiouracil 8 to adenine 14 hydrogen bond of the tertiary structure, by analogy with the recent crystal structure of yeast tRNA-Phe. This assignment is confirmed by the disappearance of this resonance after treatment with cyanogen bromide.

Arginine↗
PubMed1982

Periportal and pericentral pyridine nucleotide fluorescence from the surface of the perfused liver: evaluation of the hypothesis that chronic treatment with ethanol produces pericentral hypoxia.

Pyridine nucleotide fluorescence made from the surface of the hemoglobin-free perfused rat liver was measured continuously by using a "micro-light guide" placed on selected periportal and pericentral regions of the liver lobule. From the portal oxygen tension at which pyridine nucleotide reduction first occurred in pericentral regions, the oxygen gradient across the liver lobule was estimated in livers from rats treated chronically with ethanol or sucrose. Chronic treatment with ethanol increased the average lobular oxygen gradient from 275 to 400 torr (1 torr = 133 Pa), primarily due to the increase in the oxygen gradient in pericentral regions. Ethanol treatment also increased hepatic oxygen uptake significantly, from 110 to 144 (mumol/g)/hr. Treatment with the antithyroid drug 6-propyl-2-thiouracil reversed the effect of ethanol on O2 uptake and on the lobular oxygen gradient. The oxygen gradients measured with the micro-light guide were confirmed by direct measurement of tissue oxygen tensions in periportal and pericentral areas by using an oxygen electrode. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that chronic treatment with ethanol causes the pericentral region of the liver lobule to become susceptible to hypoxic cellular injury. This may be responsible, at least in part, for the localized hepatotoxic effects of ethanol.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Thyroid hormones regulate levels of thyrotropin-releasing-hormone mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus.

Cellular levels of messenger RNA encoding thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were measured in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and the reticular nucleus of the thalamus in male rats after chemical thyroidectomy and thyroid hormone replacement. TRH mRNA levels were measured by quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry using a 35S-labeled synthetic 48-base oligodeoxynucleotide probe and quantitative autoradiography. Chemical thyroidectomy, produced by the administration of 6-(n-propyl)-2-thiouracil (PrSur), reduced plasma thyroxine below detection limits and significantly increased TRH mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus. Treatment with exogenous L-triiodothyronine (T3) reduced TRH mRNA to the same level in both hypothyroid and euthyroid animals. Neither PrSur treatment nor T3 replacement influenced TRH mRNA levels in the reticular nucleus of the thalamus. Blot hybridization analysis of electrophoretically fractionated total RNA from pituitaries of these animals indicated that thyrotropin-beta mRNA levels were elevated after thyroidectomy and reduced by T3 treatment, showing that the pituitary-thyroid axis was indeed stimulated by PrSur treatment. These results suggest that thyroid hormones are involved, either directly or indirectly, in regulating the biosynthesis of TRH in the thyrotropic center of the hypothalamus.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Preparation and properties of a selenium-containing catalytic antibody as type I deiodinase mimic.

Conversion of thyroxine (T4) to 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine is an essential first step in controlling thyroid hormone action. Type I deiodinase (DI) can catalyze the conversion to produce the bulk of serum 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine. Acting as a mimic of DI, a selenium-containing catalytic antibody (Se-4C5) prepared by converting the serine residues of monoclonal antibody 4C5 raised against T4 into selenocysteines, can catalyze the deiodination of T4 with dithiothreitol (DTT) as cosubstrate. The mimic enzyme Se-4C5 exhibited a much greater deiodinase activity than model compound ebselen and another selenium-containing antibody Se-Hp4 against GSH. The coupling of selenocysteine with the combining pocket of antibody 4C5 endowed Se-4C5 with enzymatic activity. To probe the catalytic mechanism of the catalytic antibody, detailed kinetic studies were carried out in this paper. Investigations into the deiodinative reaction revealed the relationship between the initial velocity and substrate concentration. The characteristic parallel Dalziel plots demonstrated that Se-4C5-catalyzed reaction mechanism was ping-pong one, involving at least one covalent enzyme intermediate. The kinetic properties of the catalytic antibody were similar to those of DI, with Km values for T4 and DTT of approximately 0.8 microm and 1.8 mm, respectively, and a Vm value of 270 pmol per mg of protein per min. The activity could be sensitively inhibited by 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) with a K(i) value of approximately 120 microm at 2.0 microm T4 concentration. The PTU inhibition was progressively alleviated with the increasing concentration of added DTT, revealing that PTU was a competitive inhibitor for DTT.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Weight increase of the thyroid gland as a tentative screening parameter to detect the illegal use of thyreostatic compounds in slaughter cattle.

A total of 45 normal or enlarged thyroid glands of adult slaughter cattle were weighed and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography for the presence of residues of the following thyreostatic compounds: thiouracil, methylthiouracil, propylthiouracil, phenylthiouracil, and methimazole. In 21 glands, mostly from imported animals, residues of methylthiouracil or methimazole were detected. These thyroids ranged in weight from 68-245 g (mean value 118 g). Glands in which no residues were found, varied in weight between 20 and 124 g (mean value 42 g). Taking an upper limit of 60 g as normal, 4 out of 22 were false-positive' with respect to the 5 thyreostatic compounds screened for, while no false-negative cases were scored. On the basis of these results the weight increase of the thyroid gland is proposed as a simple indirect parameter in the screening for the illegal use of thyreostatic compounds in slaughter cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Synthesis and biological activity of modified thiopyrimidine nucleosides.

N3-beta-D-glucopyranosyl, galactopyranosyl and xylopyranosyl 6-methyl-2-methylthiouracil and their 5-bromo derivatives have been synthesized by coupling an alpha-acetobromosugar with the corresponding thiouracil. The new modified thiouridine analogues were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) replication in MT-4 cells as well as for their cytotoxicity.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Nuclear binding capacity appears to limit the hepatic response to L-triiodothyronine (T3).

In vivo saturation studies of thyroidectomized, propyl thiouracil, and L-triiodothyronine treated animals indicate that the hepatic nuclear binding capacity is not significantly influenced by the thyroidal status of the tissues. The constancy of the nuclear binding capacity for L-triiodothyronine facilitated an analysis of the relationship between nuclear occupancy and hepatic response to an intravenous injection of a triiodothyronine pulse. The activity of the mitochondrial enzyme alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase was used as an index of tissue response to the administered triiodothyronine. Results were compatible with the following model. Saturation of nuclear sites is rapidly followed by a maximal rate of enzyme synthesis. When the sites are saturated, the activity of alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase appeared to be independent of the dose administered. Higher doses of triiodothyronine achieve greater effects simply by occupying nuclear sites for a longer period. The apparent ability of nuclear sites to constrain tissue response to hormone administration provides additional supporting data for the physiological relevance of these sites in the initiation of hormonal action.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mode of action: developmental thyroid hormone insufficiency--neurological abnormalities resulting from exposure to propylthiouracil.

Because thyroid hormone is essential for normal brain development before and after birth, environmental chemicals that interfere with thyroid hormone signaling can adversely affect brain development. Adverse consequences of thyroid hormone insufficiency depend both on severity and developmental timing, indicating that environmental antithyroid factors may produce different effects at different developmental windows of exposure. Mechanistic studies can provide important insight into the potential impact of chemicals on human thyroid function, but relevance to humans must be systematically evaluated. This kind of analysis depends on data sets that include information about animals and humans. The drug 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) is used in animals to experimentally manipulate serum thyroid hormone levels, and in humans to treat patients, including pregnant women, with Graves' disease. A systematic analysis of the mode of action (MOA) of PTU in rats and in humans discloses similar modes of action. While the analysis predicts that PTU doses that produce thyroid hormone insufficiency in humans would adversely affect the developing brain, careful monitoring of PTU administration in pregnant and lactating humans keeps infant serum thyroid hormone levels within the normal range.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2001

Thyroid hormone-induced oxidative damage on lipids, glutathione and DNA in the mouse heart.

Oxygen radicals of mitochondrial origin are involved in oxidative damage. In order to analyze the possible relationship between metabolic rate, oxidative stress and oxidative damage, OF1 female mice were rendered hyper- and hypothyroid by chronic administration of 0.0012% L-thyroxine (T4) and 0.05% 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU), respectively, in their drinking water for 5 weeks. Hyperthyroidism significantly increased the sensitivity to lipid peroxidation in the heart, although the endogenous levels of lipid peroxidation were not altered. Thyroid hormone-induced oxidative stress also resulted in higher levels of GSSG and GSSG/GSH ratio. Oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA was greater than that to genomic DNA. Hyperthyroidism decreased oxidative damage to genomic DNA. Hypothyroidism did not modify oxidative damage in the lipid fraction but significantly decreased GSSG and GSSG/GSH ratio and oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA. These results indicate that thyroid hormones modulate oxidative damage to lipids and DNA, and cellular redox potential in the mouse heart. A higher oxidative stress in the hyperthyroid group is presumably neutralized in the case of nuclear DNA by an increase in repair activity, thus protecting this key molecule. Treatment with PTU, a thyroid hormone inhibitor, reduced oxidative damage in the different cell compartments.

8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine↗
PubMed1979

Lactose synthetase activity in mouse mammary glands is controlled by thyroid hormones.

Epithelial cells in explants from the mammary glands of euthyroid mature virgin mice are proliferatively dormant. They must undergo DNA synthesis and traverse the cell cycle in vitro before they are able to differentiate fully in response to insulin, hydrocortisone, and prolactin, and synthesize enzymatically active alpha-lactalbumin (measured as lactose synthetase activity). In contrast, glands from hyperthyroid mature virgin mice do not require DNA synthesis in vitro to differentiate. Explants from the euthyroid virgin tissue overcome their dependence on DNA synthesis when 10(-9) M 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine is added directly to the cultures in addition to the other three hormones. Explants from involuted mammary glands from euthyroid primiparous mice do not require DNA synthesis in vitro to make the milk protein even though they, like explants from mature euthyroid virgin tissue, are proliferatively dormant and do not contain detectable lactose synthetase activity in vivo. Glands from primiparous animals made mildly hypothyroid by ingestion of 0.1% thiouracil in drinking water during 7 wk of involution remain morphologically indistinguishable from glands of their euthyroid counterparts. However, explants from the glands of these hypothyroid animals revert to a state of dependence on DNA synthesis to differentiate functionally. These observations suggest that the dependence on DNA synthesis and cell cycle traversal for hormonal induction of lactose synthetase activity in the mouse mammary gland is controlled by thyroid hormones.

Animals↗
PubMed1956

Experimental production of gross atherosclerosis in the rat.

Gross atherosclerosis was produced in the rat by feeding purified diets containing cholesterol, sodium cholate, and thiouracil for periods up to 363 days. In a few weeks a marked increase of the serum cholesterol and beta lipoproteins as well as of the liver lipides was observed. Lesions visible in the gross were found on the intimal surfaces of the vessels of all 46 animals examined. These were most prominent in the heart valves and aortic arch. The earliest lesions, which were seen at 31 days, required Sudan staining for gross demonstration. Older lesions were visible without staining. Microscopic coronary artery lesions were present and in one instance were accompanied by massive myocardial infarction. Vascular lesions were characterized by medial and intimal lipide infiltration and cellular intimal plaque formation. In a part of this study the protein level of the diet was altered at the expense of sucrose. The hypercholesteremic response among the rats varied according to the dietary protein level. The lowest response was observed among those animals receiving the highest level of dietary protein. A difference, however, in the severity and extent of the arterial lesions among these relatively small groups of rats could not be established under these experimental conditions. In all these experiments a close correlation existed between the serum cholesterol levels and beta lipoproteins of the S(f)20-100 range.

Animals↗
PubMed1958

Blood pressure, cholesterol content of serum and tissues and atherogenesis in the rat.

Rats on a stock diet with added cholesterol, cholic acid, and thiouracil developed increased concentrations of cholesterol, total lipide, and beta lipoprotein in the serum, and an increased content of cholesterol in the liver and carcass, despite the fact that the diet produced a cessation of endogenous cholesterol synthesis. Rats with high serum lipide concentrations developed intimal lesions similar to those of human atherosclerosis. The induction of hypertension by desoxycorticosterone and salt accelerated the development of hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipemia, increase in tissue cholesterol content, and atherosclerotic changes in the intima. Hypertension induced by renal artery constriction also intensified the hypercholesterolemia and hyperlipemia. On the other hand, rats receiving desoxycorticosterone acetate without salt or salt without desoxycorticosterone acetate did not show any intensification of hypercholesterolemia or hyperlipemia. The extent of the atherosclerotic lesions was correlated with the concentration of cholesterol in the serum. There was also a positive correlation between blood pressure and the degree of hypercholesterolemia. It remained uncertain whether the increase in atherosclerosis in the hypertensive animals was dependent on the increased lipide content of serum and tissues or on a local effect of the elevated blood pressure.

Animals↗
PubMed1959

Experimental atherosclerosis and cardiac infarcts in rats.

Marked obesity was induced in rats by feeding a high fat, egg yolk-rich diet. The obese rats were hyperlipemic and showed an increased incidence of lipomatous coronary lesions, but did not develop severe atheromatous lesions. Spontaneous vascular lesions of several kinds have been observed in aging rats. Among them, plaques containing a fibrin-like material seem to be conspicuous. However, these lesions differ from the experimentally induced changes, which were more fatty. Atherosclerosis, as it is defined in human pathology, has not been observed to develop spontaneously in rats. Experimental induction of marked hyperlipemia and hypercholesterolemia by feeding a high fat egg yolk-rich diet (supplemented with cholesterol, choleate, and thiouracil), and use of viosterol to cause vascular injury, led to severe atherosclerosis, coronary occlusion, and myocardial infarction. A consideration of all the findings reported here leads to renewed support of the concept that atherosclerosis has a combination of causes (Aschoff, Anitschkow, Page). Of all the etiological factors considered here, elevation of blood lipides and vascular injury are thought to be the most important ones.

Animals↗
PubMed1960

Biochemical studies on amphibian metamorphosis. I. The effect of thyroxine on protein synthesis in the tadpole.

Thyroxine has been shown to accelerate the synthesis of carbamyl phosphate synthetase in the liver of Rana catesbeiana. Stimulation of carbamyl phosphate synthetase synthesis by thyroxine appears to be relatively specific because of the following observations: (1) succinoxidase activity decreased during the time that carbamyl phosphate synthetase increased; (2) liver catalase responded more slowly than carbamyl phosphate synthetase to thyroxine; (3) the ratio of biochemical changes/morphological changes was greatly altered during thyroxine-induced metamorphosis. The relationships between the concentration of thyroxine and (1) temperature; (2) duration of exposure of the tadpole to thyroxine; and (3) the activity of carbamyl phosphate synthetase during the induced synthesis of carbamyl phosphate synthetase by thyroxine are discussed. Chloramphenicol and thiouracil partly counteracted the effect of thyroxine on the synthesis of carbamyl phosphate synthetase.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Radioprotective effects in vivo of phenolics extracted from Olea europaea L. leaves against X-ray-induced chromosomal damage: comparative study versus several flavonoids and sulfur-containing compounds.

The radioprotective effects of a polyphenolic extract of Olea europaea L. leaves (OL); the flavonoids diosmin and rutin, which are widely used as pharmaceuticals; and the sulfur-containing compounds dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) were determined by using the micronucleus test for anticlastogenic activity, evaluating the reduction of the frequency of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MnPCEs) in bone marrow of mouse before and after X-ray irradiation. With treatment before X-irradiation, the most effective compounds were, in order, rutin > DMSO > OL > PTU > diosmin. These results showed, for the polyphenols studied, a linear correlation (r(2) = 0.965) between anticlastogenic activity and antioxidant capacity. The magnitude of protection with treatment after X-irradiation were lower, and the most effective compounds were, in order, OL > diosmin > rutin; DMSO and PTU lacked radioprotective activity. Therefore, OL is the only substance that showed a significant anticlastogenic activity both before and after X-ray irradiation treatments. Structurally, the free oxygen radicals and lipoperoxyradicals scavenging capacity and, consequently, the anticlastogenic activity of these polyphenolic compounds are based principally on the presence of specific functional groups, mainly catechol groups (rutin, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, verbascoside, luteolin), that also increase the stability of the aroxyl-polyphenol radical generated in the above processes.

Animals↗