Subclinical hypothyroidism is a strong indicator of risk for atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction in elderly women.

Earlier studies in our laboratory showed that hydroxylated metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) competitively inhibit thyroxine (T4) binding to transthyretin (TTR) and type I deiodinase (D1) activity. In this study, we investigated the possible inhibitory effects of hydroxylated metabolites of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) on iodothyronine sulfotransferase activity. Rat liver cytosol was used as a source of sulfotransferase enzyme in an in vitro assay with 125I-labeled 3,3'-diiodothyronine (T2) as a model substrate. Increasing amounts of hydroxylated PCBs, PCDDs, or PCDFs or extracts from incubation mixtures of PHAHs and induced liver microsomes were added as potential inhibitors of T2 sulfotransferase activity. Hydroxylated metabolites of PCBs, PCDDs, and PCDFs were found to be potent inhibitors of T2 sulfotransferase activity in vitro with IC50 values in the low micromolar range (0.2-3.8 microM). The most potent inhibitor of T2 sulfotransferase activity in our experiments was the PCB metabolite 3-hydroxy-2,3',4, 4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl with an IC50 value of 0.2 microM. A hydroxyl group in the para or meta position appeared to be an important structural requirement for T2 sulfotransferase inhibition by PCB metabolites. Ortho hydroxy PCBs were much less potent, and none of the parent PHAHs was capable of inhibiting T2 sulfotransferase activity. In addition, the formation of T2 sulfotransferase-inhibiting metabolites of individual brominated diphenyl ethers and nitrofen as well as from some commercial PHAH mixtures (e.g., Bromkal, Clophen A50, and Aroclor 1254) was also demonstrated. These results indicate that hydroxylated PHAHs are potent inhibitors of thyroid hormone sulfation. Since thyroid hormone sulfation may play an important role in regulating free hormone levels in the fetus, and PCB metabolites are known to accumulate in fetal tissues after maternal exposure to PCBs, these observations may have implications for fetal thyroid hormone homeostasis and development.

A B S T R A C T We have studied 5'-deiodination of thyroxine (T4) and 3,3',5'-triiodothyronine (rT3) in rat pituitary tissue in vitro, with respect to substrate specificity, reaction kinetics, effects of 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU), and the time course of effects of thyroid hormone depletion and repletion. Removal of one phenolic iodine or both tyrosyl iodines from the T4 molecule resulted in compounds that were not deiodinated, but alterations in the alanine side chain had little effect.5'-Deiodination of 2 nM rT3 by pituitary microsomes from euthyroid rats was inhibited >90% by 1 mM PTU, but was inhibited <10% by 100 nM T4. The apparent Michaelis constant (K.n) and maximum velocity (Vll~ax) for rT3 at 20 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) were 33 nM and 84 pmol/mg protein per h. This reaction followed ping-pong type reaction kinetics when concentrations of DTT sitive rT3 5'-deiodination (K, = 1.3 nM). T4 5'-deiodination by hypothyroid microsomes was not affected by PTU, was competitively inhibited by rT3 (Ki, 1.7 nM), and exhibited sequential type reaction kinetics with DTT as cosubstrate. When T4 5'-deiodination was measured in euthyroid and hypothyroid microsomes, respectively, the apparent Km and Vma. for T4 at 20 mM DTT, were 0.9 nM and 0.55 pmol/mg protein per h (euthyroid), and 0.8 nM and 6.9 pmol/mg protein per h (hypothyroid).The T4 5'-deiodination rate and the PTU-insensitive, but not total, rT3 5'-deiodination rate (i.e. measured in the presence and the absence of 1 mM PTU, respectively) in pituitary homogenates were significantly elevated 24 h after thyroidectomy. PTU-insensitive activity continued to increase until at .30 d after thyroidectomy it was 11 times the PTU-insensitive activity in controls. At the latter time, PTU-sensitive rT3 5'-deiodinase activity appeared to be decreased. The increase in PTU-insensitive T4 and rT3 5'-deiodination observed 48

In rats subjected to thyroidectomy there was a two- to fourfold increase in cerebral cortex iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase activity within 24 hours. This increase was prevented by thyroxine replacement. The increased cortical 5'-deiodinase in chronically hypothyroid rats was normalized within 4 hours by a single intravenous injection of triiodothyronine. These results indicate that the adult central nervous system can give a very rapid biochemical response to thyroid hormone.

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Retrograde tracing with a fluorescent dye (Fast Blue) combined with immunohistochemistry was used to identify putative neurotransmitter(s) at the phrenic motor nucleus in the cat. Fast Blue was injected bilaterally into the diaphragm of five cats, where each phrenic nerve enters the muscle. Seven days later the animals were perfusion fixed and tissue sections from the fourth, fifth, and sixth cervical spinal cord segments were analyzed using a fluorescence microscope. Retrogradely labeled fluorescent phrenic motor neuron cell bodies appeared in all of the segments but primarily in sections from the fifth segment. The same or adjacent transverse sections were then used for the demonstration of the distribution of the neurotransmitters 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT), substance P, and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) in the area of the phrenic motor nucleus using the indirect immunofluorescence technique. The most conspicuous neurotransmitters found at the phrenic motor nucleus were 5-HT and substance P. We observed dense and diffuse fiber networks throughout the ventral horn which contains the phrenic motor nucleus. These fibers contained varicosities in close proximity to phrenic motor neurons. In addition to 5-HT-and substance Pcontaining nerve endings, some fibers containing TRH were also found in the area of the phrenic motor nucleus. These results are consistent with earlier physiological data suggesting that 5-HT, substance P, and TRH are important neurotransmitters and/or neuromodulators involved in central control of respiration.Our knowledge of central respiratory neurons is extensive with regard to their anatomical localization and their electrophysiological properties (Cohen, 1979; Mitchell and Berger, 1981). However, very little is known about the neurotransmitters of these neurons. One approach commonly used to obtain information about this point has been to inject a putative CNS neurotransmitter, an agonist or antagonist of the neurotransmitter or a pre-

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Serum concentrations of 24, The concentrations of all three metabolites studied vary according to the season. Thus to interpret these concentrations in any subject the normal range for the particular season must be referred to.