This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by ROTI, E. Articles by BRAVERMAN, L. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by ROTI, E. Articles by BRAVERMAN, L. E.

The Placental Transport, Synthesis and Metabolism of Hormones and Drugs which Affect Thyroid Function^*

Cattedra di Endocrinologia e Patologia Costituzionale, Universita di Parma, Parma, Italy, and the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester, Massachusetts

Correspondence: Address requests for reprints to: Dr. Lewis E. Braverman, Division of Endocrinology/Metabolism, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Medicine, Worcester, MA 01605.

Abstract

FETAL DEVELOPMENT is dependent upon the presence of the placenta. This organ, which interfaces the maternal and fetal vascular systems, not only regulates the transfer of various substrates from mother to fetus but also produces polypeptide hormones important for the maintenance of pregnancy, the induction of labor (1) and the synthesis and metabolism of steroid hormones necessary for the development of the fetus (2).

In this review we will examine the role of the placenta on various aspects of maternal and fetal thyroid function including the transport, synthesis, and metabolism of hormones and compounds related to thyroid function.

Transport: In this section we will review the available information on the transport of thyroid and related hormones and compounds known to affect thyroid function.

The role of the placenta in the transport of the iodothyronines has been studied in many species. In the rat, Hoskins et al. (3) demonstrated that the administration of large doses of thyroxine (T₄) to prophylthiouracil (PTU) treated pregnant rats prevented fetal goiter.

Footnotes

^* This work was supported by Grant AM18919 from the NIAMDD, NIH, Bethesda, Md., and by CNR Grant CT 82.00 201.04.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. Caron, C. M. Moya, D. Malet, V. J. Gutnisky, B. Chabardes, C. M. Rivolta, and H. M. Targovnik Compound Heterozygous Mutations in the Thyroglobulin Gene (1143delC and 6725G->A [R2223H]) Resulting in Fetal Goitrous Hypothyroidism J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2003; 88(8): 3546 - 3553. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Clewell, E. A. Merrill, K. O. Yu, D. A. Mahle, T. R. Sterner, D. R. Mattie, P. J. Robinson, J. W. Fisher, and J. M. Gearhart Predicting Fetal Perchlorate Dose and Inhibition of Iodide Kinetics during Gestation: A Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Perchlorate and Iodide Kinetics in the Rat Toxicol. Sci., June 1, 2003; 73(2): 235 - 255. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. Mahle, K. O. Yu, L. Narayanan, D. R. Mattie, and J. W. Fisher Changes in Cross-Fostered Sprague-Dawley Rat Litters Exposed to Perchlorate International Journal of Toxicology, March 1, 2003; 22(2): 87 - 94. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Friedrichsen, S. Christ, H. Heuer, M. K. H. Schafer, A. Mansouri, K. Bauer, and T. J. Visser Regulation of Iodothyronine Deiodinases in the Pax8-/- Mouse Model of Congenital Hypothyroidism Endocrinology, March 1, 2003; 144(3): 777 - 784. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. L. S. Dowling, E. A. Iannacone, and R. T. Zoeller Maternal Hypothyroidism Selectively Affects the Expression of Neuroendocrine-Specific Protein A Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in the Proliferative Zone of the Fetal Rat Brain Cortex Endocrinology, January 1, 2001; 142(1): 390 - 399. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Richard, R. Hume, E. Kaptein, J. P. Sanders, H. van Toor, W. W. de Herder, J. C. den Hollander, E. P. Krenning, and T. J. Visser Ontogeny of Iodothyronine Deiodinases in Human Liver J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 1998; 83(8): 2868 - 2874. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				P. M. Versloot, J. P. S.-V. D. Elst, D. Van Der Heide, and L. Boogerd Effects of marginal iodine deficiency during pregnancy: iodide uptake by the maternal and fetal thyroid Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, December 1, 1997; 273(6): E1121 - E1126. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. N. Burrow and M. D. Editorial: Mothers Are Important! Endocrinology, January 1, 1997; 138(1): 3 - 4. [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. N. Burrow, D. A. Fisher, and P. R. Larsen Maternal and Fetal Thyroid Function N. Engl. J. Med., October 20, 1994; 331(16): 1072 - 1078. [Full Text]