Changes in O(2) uptake at different thyroid status have been explained on the basis of the modulation of mitochondrial enzymes and membrane biophysical properties. Regarding the nitric oxide (NO) effects, we tested whether liver mitochondrial nitric oxide synthase (mtNOS) participates in the modulation of O(2) uptake in thyroid disorders. Wistar rats were inoculated with 400 microCi (131)I (hypothyroid group), 20 microg thyroxine (T(4))/100 g body wt administered daily for 2 wk (hyperthyroid group) or vehicle (control). Basal metabolic rate, mitochondrial function, and mtNOS activity were analyzed. Systemic and liver mitochondrial O(2) uptake and cytochrome oxidase activity were lower in hypothyroid rats with respect to controls; mitochondrial parameters were further decreased by L-arginine (-42 and -34%, P < 0.05), consistent with 5- to 10-fold increases in matrix NO concentration. Accordingly, mtNOS expression (75%) and activity (260%) were selectively increased in hypothyroidism and reverted by hormone replacement without changes in other nitric oxide isoforms. Moreover, mtNOS activity correlated with serum 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T(3)) and O(2) uptake. Increased mtNOS activity was also observed in skeletal muscle mitochondria from hypothyroid rats. Therefore, we suggest that modulation of mtNOS is a substantial part of thyroid effects on mitochondrial O(2) uptake.

The objective of this study was to examine the in vivo effect of melatonin on rat mitochondrial liver respiration. Two experiments were performed: For experiment 1, adult male rats received melatonin in the drinking water (16 or 50 microg/ml) or vehicle during 45 days. For experiment 2, rats received melatonin in the drinking water (50 microg/ml) for 45 days, or the same amount for 30 days followed by a 15 day-withdrawal period. At sacrifice, a liver mitochondrial fraction was prepared and oxygen consumption was measured polarographically in the presence of excess concentration of DL-3-beta-hydroxybutyrate or L-succinate. Melatonin treatment decreased Krebs' cycle substrate-induced respiration significantly at both examined doses. The stimulation of mitochondrial respiration caused by excess concentration of substrate recovered after melatonin withdrawal. Basal state 4 respiration was not modified by melatonin. Melatonin, by curtailing overstimulation of cellular respiration caused by excess Krebs' cycle substrates, can protect the mitochondria from oxidative damage.

-The effects of long-term cold exposure on brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis in hypothyroid rats have been examined. Thyroid ablation was performed in normal rats after 2 mo of exposure to 4°C, when BAT hypertrophy and thermogenic activity were maximal. After ablation, hypothyroid and normal controls remained in the cold for 2 additional months. At the end of the 4-mo cold exposure, all untreated hypothyroid rats were alive, had normal body temperature, and had gained an average 12.8% more weight than normal controls. Long-term cold exposure of hypothyroid rats markedly increased BAT weight, mitochondrial proteins, uncoupling protein (UCP)-1, mRNA for UCP-1, and oxygen consumption to levels similar to those seen in cold-exposed normal rats. The results indicate that thyroid hormones are required for increased thermogenic capacity to occur as an adaptation to long-term cold exposure. However, cold adaptation can be maintained in the absence of thyroid hormone. cold acclimation; uncoupling protein-1; hypothyroidism; oxygen consumption; norepinephrine THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BROWN ADIPOSE TISSUE (BAT) thermogenic response to acute cold stress has been widely recognized (for reviews see Refs. 21,22,30). Numerous complex phenomena take place in BAT after exposure to low temperatures, leading to the synthesis of mitochondrial proteins involved in heat production. A critical role in this process is the synthesis of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1), strongly promoted by norepinephrine (NE) through a synergism between ␣-and ␤-adrenergic receptors (24,32,40). The presence of the thyroid hormones is essential to initiate BAT heat production, because triiodothyronine (T 3 ) potentiates the action of NE on UCP-1 gene transcription (2-4, 37). This explains the development of hypothermia in hypothyroid rats soon after exposure to low temperatures, an effect corrected by the administration of thyroid hormones but not by the administration of NE (39).Thyroid hormones are active regulators of basal metabolic rate (BMR) and energy expenditure by a number of mechanisms (9,12,38,39). However, earlier studies had suggested that the thyroid hormone may not be necessary for a sustained normothermia after acclimation to cold has been achieved (for review see Ref. 13). Thus Hsieh and Carlson (25) observed a high metabolic rate and normal life survival in hypothyroid rats adapted to cold before thyroidectomy. Despite numerous studies, the influence of thyroid function on the maintenance of normothermia in rodents exposed to prolonged low temperature is not clearly understood.The purpose of the present study was to assess the role of the thyroid hormones in BAT thermogenesis during long-term cold exposure. After a period of time in the cold, rats were made hypothyroid. Hypothyroid and normal controls were then maintained for an additional period of time in the cold, and thereafter BAT was studied. Accordingly, hypothyroidism was induced after BAT hypertrophy and thermogenic activity were maximally activated. In contrast, room temperaturea...

The effects of cadmium on 5'-deiodination of thyroxine (T4) by rat liver and on the hepatic concentration of non-protein sulfhydryl groups (NPSH) were studied in Wistar rats of 200-250 g body weight. A group of ten rats was injected with cadmium chloride (300 micrograms/100 g body weight i.p.) daily for 4 days. Another group of six rats received, in addition, dithiothreitol (DTT; 1 mg/100 g body weight i.p.) daily for the same period. A group of eight normal untreated rats served as control. T4 deiodination was also determined in aliquots of liver from untreated rats, with cadmium (2 or 5 mmol/l) and with or without DTT (0, 2.5, 5 or 10 mmol/l) plus 1 microCi 125I-labelled T4. Hepatic NPSH were measured by a colorimetric method employing dithioldinitrobenzoic acid. Homogenates were incubated for 90 min at 37 degrees C and chromatographed in a tertiary amyl alcohol:hexane:ammonia (2 mol/l) (10:1:12) system. Cadmium-injected rats showed a significant (P < 0.01) decrease in T4 deiodination and in the generation of 125I (P < 0.01) and tri-iodothyronine (T3) (P < 0.02). NPSH were also decreased (P < 0.02). Administration of DTT restored T4 deiodination and NPSH to normal. In-vitro addition of cadmium or DTT to normal rat liver homogenates induced similar effects on the degradation of T4. Serum concentrations of T4 (P < 0.01) and T3 (P < 0.01) declined significantly in cadmium-injected rats, whereas DTT administration failed to normalize serum hormone levels. The data suggest that cadmium may have decreased 5'-deiodinating activity through binding to sulfhydryl groups of 5'-deiodinase as it does in other enzymes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Zaninovich, Angel A., Iné s Rebagliati, Marcela Raíces, Conrado Ricci, and Karl Hagmü ller. Mitochondrial respiration in muscle and liver from cold-acclimated hypothyroid rats. J Appl Physiol 95: 1584-1590, 2003. First published June 27, 2003 10.1152/japplphysiol.00363.2003.-The effects of long-term cold exposure on muscle and liver mitochondrial oxygen consumption in hypothyroid and normal rats were examined. Thyroid ablation was performed after 8-wk acclimation to 4°C. Hypothyroid and normal controls remained in the cold for an additional 8 wk. At the end of 16-wk cold exposure, all hypothyroid rats were alive and normothermic and had normal body weight. At ambient temperature (24°C), thyroid ablation induced a 65% fall in muscle mitochondrial oxygen consumption, which was reversed by thyroxine but not by norepinephrine administration. After cold acclimation was reached, suppression of thyroid function reduced muscle mitochondrial respiration by 30%, but the hypothyroid values remained about threefold higher than those in hypothyroid muscle in the warm. Blockade of ␤-and ␣1-adrenergic receptors in both hypothyroid and normal rats produced hypothermia in vivo and a fall in muscle, liver, and brown adipose tissue mitochondria respiration in vitro. In normal rats, cold acclimation enhanced muscle respiration by 35%, in liver 18%, and in brown adipose tissue 450% over values in the warm. The results demonstrate that thyroid hormones, in the presence of norepinephrine, are major determinants of thermogenic activity in muscle and liver of cold-acclimated rats. After thyroid ablation, cold-induced nonshivering thermogenesis replaced 3,5,3Ј-triiodothyronine-induced thermogenesis, and normal body temperature was maintained. cold acclimation; oxygen consumption; norepinephrine; adrenergic-receptor blockers ENDOTHERMIC ANIMALS LIVING in a cold environment maintain normothermia and energy balance through an activation of mechanisms that increase heat production and heat conservation. Heat production is commonly classified as either obligatory or adaptive (for reviews, see Refs. 15,23,29,38). The obligatory thermogenesis results from the widespread metabolic activity in many tissues and serves to maintain normal body temperature, which in homeotherms is usually higher than ambient temperature. The thyroid hormones stimulate obligatory thermogenesis by a number of mechanisms that are still incompletely understood (8,32,38). The additional heat needed to preserve body temperature in a cold environment is obtained through adaptive or facultative thermogenesis, a process regulated by the hypothalamus through the sympathetic nervous system. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is the main site for adaptive thermogenesis primarily because of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1), which uncouples electron transport from the phosphorylation of ADP and appears to be the only protein able to respond to thermal challenge (31, 30).UCP-1 expression is stimulated by norepinephrine (NE) but requires the presence of thyroid hormones (3, 4,...