Effect of neonatal hyperthyroidism upon the regulation of TSH secretion in rats

The neo-T4 syndrome was induced in rats by administration of 30 micrograms T4/in 5 doses starting on the first day of life. In the first experiment (A), neo-T4 and saline-control rats were divided into two populations, one of which was thyroidectomized on day 25. All rats then received 5 micrograms T4/100 g b.w. on days 42, 43 and 44, and were sacrificed on day 45. In the second experiment (B), neo-T4 and saline-control rats were thyroidectomized at 25 days of age and were sacrificed 10, 20 and 40 days after the operation. In both experiments, pituitary and plasma TSH and pituitary GH were determined. T4 administration has the same effect on plasma and pituitary TSH regulation in neo-T4 and control rats, thyroidectomized or not. The increase in pituitary GH produced by T4 is smaller in the thyroidectomized neo-T4 animals. The comparison between T4-induced increases of pituitary TSH in thyroidectomized neo-T4 and saline control-rats, and the corresponding decreases in non-thyroidectomized animals suggests an alteration in TSH synthesis which has previously been compared with that found in rats with lesions of the hypothalamus. However, the changes in pituitary and plasma TSH levels in neo-T4 rats at different intervals after thyroidectomy do not coincide with those described for rats with hypothalamic lesions. The possible perturbation in pituitary TSH synthesis proposed for neo-T4 rats accords with the lack of response to TRH found in adult animals treated with thyroxine, an effect which remains even when plasma T4 levels decrease.