TH synthesis, Decreased leads to T4 in serum, Decreased

There are no inconsistencies in this KER, but there are some uncertainties. The first uncertainty stems from the paucity of data for quantitative modeling of the relationship between the degree of synthesis decrease and resulting changes in circulating T4 concentrations. In addition, most of the data supporting this KER comes from inhibition of TPO, and there are a number of other processes (e.g., endocytosis, lysosomal fusion, basolateral fusion and release) that are not as well studied.

For example, Kim et al. (2015) investigated the adverse effects of Triphenyl phosphate (TPP), a substance that disrupts the thyroid system. Therefore, Rat pituitary (GH3) and thyroid follicular cell lines (FRTL-5) were studied. In the GH3 cells, TPP led to an upregulation of the expression of important thyroid genes (tsh, tr alpha and tr beta) while T3, a positive control, downregulated the expression of these genes. In FRTL-5 cells, the expression of nis and tpo genes was significantly upregulated, suggesting that TPP stimulates TH synthesis in the thyroid gland.

In zebrafish larvae at the age of 7 days post-fertilisation (dpf), TPP exposure resulted in a significant increase in T3 and T4 concentrations and the expression of genes involved in thyroid hormone synthesis. Exposure to TPP also significantly regulated the expression of genes involved in the metabolism (dio1), transport (ttr) and excretion (ugt1ab) of THs. The down-regulation of the crh and tsh genes in the zebrafish larvae suggests the activation of a central regulatory feedback mechanism that is triggered by the increased T3 levels in vivo. Taken together, these observations indicate that TPP increases TH concentrations in early life stages of zebrafish by disrupting central regulatory and hormone synthesis pathways.

Fisher et al. (2013) published a quantitative biologically-based dose-response model for iodine deficiency in the rat. This model provides quantitative relationships for thyroidal T4 synthesis (iodine organification) and predictions of serum T4 concentrations in developing rats. There are other computational models that include thyroid hormone synthesis. Ekerot et al. (2012) modeled TPO, T3, T4 and TSH in dogs and humans based on exposure to myeloperoxidase inhibitors that also inhibit TPO.  This model was recently adapted for rats(Leonard et al., 2016) and Hassan et al (2017) have extended it to include the pregnant rat dam in response to TPO inhibition induced by PTU. While the original model predicted serum TH and TSH levels as a function of oral dose, it was not used to explicitly predict the relationship between serum hormones and TPO inhibition, or TH synthesis. Leonard et al. (2016) recently incorporated TPO inhibition into the model. Degon et al (2008) developed a human thyroid model that includes TPO, but does not make quantitative prediction of organification changes due to inhibition of the TPO enzyme. Further empirical support for the response-response relationship has been demonstrated in the amphibian model, Xenopus laevis, exposed to TPO inhibitors during pro-metamorphosis (Haselman et al., 2020) wherein temporal profiles were measured for both thyroidal and circulating T4.

Given that the thyroid gland contains follicular lumen space filled with stored thyroglobulin/T4, complete inhibition of thyroid hormone synthesis at a given point in time will not result in an instantaneous decrease in circulating T4. The system will be capable of maintaining sufficient circulating T4 levels until the gland stores are depleted. The time it takes to deplete stored hormone will greatly depend on species, developmental status and numerous other factors.

In Xenopus, Haselman et al. (2020) demonstrated an approximately 5 day difference between a significant decrease in thyroidal T4 preceding a significant decrease in circulating T4 while exposed to a potent TPO inhibitor (MMI) continuously during pro-metamorphosis.   

This KER is entirely influenced by the feedback loop between circulating T4 originating from the thyroid gland and circulating TSH originating from the pituitary. Intermediate biochemical processes exist within the hypothalamus to affirm feedback and coordinately release TSH from the pituitary. However, quantitative representations of these feedback processes are limited to models discussed previously.

In Xenopus, circulating levels of T4 increase through pro-metamorphosis indicating a "release" of feedback to allow circulating levels of T4 to increase and drive metamorphic changes (Sternberg et al., 2011). This provides evidence that homeostatic control of feedback can be developmentally dependent, and likely species dependent.