Autoregulation of 3, 3',5'-triiodothyronine production by rat liver microsomes

Conversion of thyroxine (T4) to 3,3',5'-triiodothyronine (rT3) was studied in rat liver microsomes. Addition of rT3 at a physiological concentration to the incubation medium inhibited the deiodination of thyroxine to rT3. With a concentration of rT3 greater than 37.6 nM no net rT3 production at pH 8.0 was observed. Further increases in rT3 concentration resulted only in degradation of added rT3 and no net synthesis of rT3 from T4 could be detected. The inhibitory effect of rT3 upon its own production from T4 was pH dependent, 5 fold lower amounts of hormone being required to inhibit completely rT3 production at pH 7.4 than at pH 8.0. With the same experimental conditions no significant effect of rT3 on the conversion of T4 to 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) could be observed at pH 8.0 with all concentrations of added iodothyronine. A linear production of 3,3'-T2 from added rT3 was determined over the whole range of rT3 concentration, suggesting a lack of saturation of deiodinating enzyme. Binding of rT3 by anti-rT3 antibody added to the incubation mixture enhanced rT3 production from T4 by protecting rT3 from being degraded and/or diminishing the inhibitory effect of this iodothyronine on its own production. It was concluded that rT3 influenced its own production and that this effect may represent an important autoregulatory process in the iodothyronine metabolism.