Comparison of preventive effect of T3 and T4 on thyroxine release from thyroid induced by endogeneous TSH after TRH injection.

Comparison of Preventive Effect of T3 and T4 on Thyroxine Release from Thyroid Induced by Endogenous TSH after TRH Injection. Endocrinologia Experimentalis 11, 91-98, 1977. The technique of frequent blood sampling through polyethylene tubings inserted into blood vessels while maintaining isovolemia was used in pentobarbiturate anaesthetized rats weighing 250--300 g. The animals were fed low iodine diet for 4 weeks and injected 125I- (5 microgram Ci per animal daily) for 6 days begining from 8th day before the experiment. The effect of 25 microgram TRH injected through a cannula inserted into carotid artery in cranial direction was evaluated as per cent increase of labelled thyroxine in plasma at 120 min after the injection compared to its level at 30 min. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of various doses of thyroxine (T4; 5, 20 and 80 nmol kg-1) and triiodothyronine (T3; 1.25 and 5 nmol kg-1) injected i.v. at the intervals of 10, 20, 30, 60 and 180 min prior to TRH was investigated. It was found that the effect was time dependent, being negligible after 10 or 20 min, while after 60 and 180 min the increase of labelled T4 after TRH was fully prevented by 20 and 80 nmol T4 kg-1 and by 5 nmol T3 kg-1. The other doses (i. e. 5 nmol T4 kg-1 and 1.25 nmol T3 kg-1) were without effect. Thus, T3 was found to be significantly more active than equimolar doses of T4.