The Effect on Sodium/Iodide Symporter and Pendrin in Thyroid Colloid Retention Developed by Excess Iodide Intake

It is well known that excess iodide can lead to thyroid colloid retention, a classic characteristic of iodide-induced goiter. However, the mechanism has not been fully unrevealed. Iodide plays an important role in thyroid function at multiple steps of thyroid colloid synthesis and transport among which sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) and pendrin are essential. In our study, we fed female BALB/c mice with different concentrations of high-iodine water including group A (control group, 0 μg/L), group B (1500 μg/L), group C (3000 μg/L), group D (6000 μg/L), and group E (12,000 μg/L). After 7 months of feeding, we found that excess iodide could lead to different degrees of thyroid colloid retention. Besides, NIS and pendrin expression were downregulated in the highest dose group. The thyroid iodide intake function detected by urine iodine assay and thyroidal (125)I experiments showed that the urine level of iodine increased, while the iodine intake rate decreased when the concentration of iodide used in feeding water increased (all p < 0.05 vs. control group). In addition, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated a reduction in the number of intracellular mitochondria of thyroid cells. Based on these findings, we concluded that the occurrence of thyroid colloid retention exacerbated by excess iodide was associated with the suppression of NIS and pendrin expression, providing an additional insight of the potential mechanism of action of excess iodide on thyroid gland.