Ultrastructural study on thyroid glands of Bufo arenarum larvae kept in potassium perchlorate solution

The ultrastructure of thyroid glands in Bufo arenarum tadpoles was studied with inhibited thyroid function. After hatching, larvae were kept in potassium perchlorate solution, a goitrogenic substance known to prevent absorption of iodine from water or food, resulting in impaired thyroid hormone synthesis. Increased thyroid gland volume and follicular cell height were observed in treated larvae. The changes in size and volume of follicular cells in experimental tadpoles appeared to be mainly a function of the overstimulation of proteinpoietic apparatus. The cell shows a conspicuous development of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex, as well as an increase in number of mitochondria and colloid droplets. These observations in follicular thyroid cells from Bufo arenarum, obtained under such experimental conditions, were interpreted in terms of interruption of negative feedback mechanisms involving the decrease in the thyroxine circulatory level, and therefore the increase in hypothalamo-hypophyseal endocrine secretory stimulation.