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Roles of hydrogen peroxide in thyroid physiology and disease
1Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Biologie Humaine et Moléculaire (IRIBHM), School of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Brussels, Belgium.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|August 2, 2007
Summary
Thyroid cells produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for hormone synthesis, employing protective mechanisms against its toxicity. Disruptions in H2O2 balance are linked to thyroid diseases like cancer and hypothyroidism.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Thyroid cells uniquely generate significant hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for hormone synthesis, a substance toxic to other cell types.
- This review examines the protective systems within thyroid cells against H2O2 and the pathological outcomes when these systems are disrupted.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the mechanisms protecting thyroid cells from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
- To investigate the pathological consequences arising from dysregulation of the H2O2 system in the thyroid.
Main Methods:
- Literature review focusing on H2O2 generation and disposal in the human thyroid.
- Analysis of thyroid hormone synthesis and its regulatory pathways.
- Examination of TSH receptor signaling in relation to H2O2 production.
Main Results:
- H2O2 production and thyroid hormone synthesis are regulated by the phospholipase C-Ca2+-diacylglycerol pathway of TSH receptor signaling.
- Thyroid cells possess multiple H2O2 protection mechanisms, including enzyme separation, a proposed thyroxisome complex, and degradation systems.
- H2O2 acts as a signaling molecule, mitogen, mutagen, carcinogen, and cytotoxic agent in various cell types, including the thyroid.
Conclusions:
- Thyroid pathologies such as tumorigenesis, myxedematous cretinism, and thyroiditis may result from H2O2 overproduction or impaired degradation.
- Congenital hypothyroidism can be linked to failures in H2O2 generation or its positive control systems.
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