Increase in plasma thyroid hormone levels during the previous heat exposure time in heat-acclimated rats

The present study was conducted to investigate day-night variations of plasma thyroid hormone and energy substrate levels in rats after acclimation to heat loaded for several hours at a fixed time per day. The heat-acclimated rats were exposed to an ambient temperature of 33 degrees C for 5 h in the last half of the dark phase for 16 consecutive days, while the control rats were kept at 24 degrees C for the same period. After completing the schedule, plasma levels of triiodothyronine (T3), free T3 (FT3), thyroxine (T4), free T4 (FT4), cortisol, triglyceride, nonesterified fatty acid, total protein, and glucose were measured at 3-h intervals between 00:00 and 18:00 (dark phase, 03:00-15:00). The plasma levels of T3 and FT3 of the heat-acclimated rats were higher than those of the controls in the last half of the dark phase. Similar differences were observed for T4 and FT4 levels. The plasma cortisol level was consistently higher in the heat-acclimated rats than in the control rats. There were no particular differences in energy-substrate levels between the two groups at any time of the day. These results indicate that heat exposure at a fixed time per day alters the pattern of day-night variations of plasma thyroid hormone levels in rats. It is noteworthy that the plasma levels of thyroid hormones, especially T3 and FT3, increased during the period when the rats had been previously exposed to heat.