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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

An Ex vivo Culture System to Study Thyroid Development
Published on: June 6, 2014
[Mechanisms underlying thyroid hormone response gene regulation during amphibian development]
Emmanuelle Havis1, Patrice Bilesimo, Barbara A Demeneix
1UMR5166 CNRS, USM-501 Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Régulation Développement et Diversité Moléculaire, CP32, 7 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Thyroid hormones (TH) orchestrate amphibian metamorphosis by regulating gene expression through thyroid hormone receptors (TR). Unliganded TR repress and liganded TR activate transcription, with gene-specific responses explaining TH
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
Context:
- Amphibian metamorphosis serves as a key model for understanding thyroid hormone (TH) actions.
- Thyroid hormone receptors (TR) are crucial regulators of gene expression.
- TR exhibit dual functions: repression when unliganded and activation when liganded.
Purpose:
- To elucidate the multifaceted roles of thyroid hormones (TH) during amphibian metamorphosis.
- To investigate the gene-specific regulatory mechanisms of TH action.
- To explore the physiological functions of unliganded thyroid hormone receptors (TR).
Summary:
- Thyroid hormones (TH) modulate gene expression via thyroid hormone receptors (TR) during amphibian metamorphosis.
- TR display dual transcriptional activities, repressing or activating genes based on ligand binding.
- Gene-specific responses to TH underpin their diverse developmental effects, including a role for unliganded TR in eye development.
Impact:
- Provides insights into the complex endocrinology of development and metamorphosis.
- Highlights the critical role of thyroid hormone signaling in vertebrate development.
- Uncovers novel functions of unliganded nuclear receptors in physiological processes like eye development.
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