Tpo knockout in zebrafish partially recapitulates clinical manifestations of congenital hypothyroidism and reveals the involvement of TH in proper development of glucose homeostasis

Efficacy of levothyroxine on growth and development in children with congenital hypothyroidism: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to systematically assess the efficacy of levothyroxine (L-T4) in the treatment of growth and development among children diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) through meta-analysis, with the ultimate goal to provide clinicians with a more robust and effective evidence-based foundation for treatment decisions.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive search of relevant literature from both domestic and international resources, and meticulously screened out clinical studies which meet our inclusion criteria, that is without any time restrictions and the deadline was September 25, 2024, and the language was limited to English and Chinese only. Subsequently, we integrated and analyzed the data using standard meta-analysis methodologies under the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses rules, aiming to derive more precise and reliable conclusions by summarizing and comparing the findings of multiple studies.

RESULTS

A total of 17 studies with 5 diagnostic indexes of IQ, height, weight, head circumference, and bone age were included, and these studies collectively reported on 1934 patients, with 951 and 983 patients, respectively being divided into the experimental and control group. The included studies were of high quality, and the results of our meta-analysis showed that L-T4 treatment could effectively promote the physical development of children with CH. Specifically, children in the experimental group had a higher level of IQ [mean difference [MD] = 8.38, 95% confidence intervals [CI] (6.89, 987)], height [MD = 6.71, 95% CI (6.08, 7.35)], weight [MD = 1.31, 95% CI (1.14, 1.49)], head circumference [MD = 3.83, 95% CI (3.52, 4.13)], and bone age [OR = 3.49, 95% CI (2.15, 5.68)] compared to those in the control group.

CONCLUSION

L-T4 is an effective drug for the treatment with CH in children, which significantly promote their growth and development while improving thyroid function. This finding provides strong evidence and support for clinicians, contributing to the progress and advancement in the field of CH treatment.

The thyroid hormone system disrupting potential of resorcinol in fish

Environmental pollutants capable of interfering with the thyroid hormone (TH) system increasingly raise concern for both human and environmental health. Recently, resorcinol has received attention as a compound of concern due to its endocrine disrupting properties. It is a known inhibitor of thyroperoxidase (TPO), an enzyme required in TH synthesis, and therapeutic use of resorcinol exposure has led to hypothyroidism in humans. There is limited evidence concerning ecotoxicologically relevant effects of resorcinol in fish. A set of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) has recently been developed linking thyroid hormone system disruption (THSD) to impaired swim bladder inflation and eye development in fish. In the present study, these AOPs were used to provide the background for testing potential THSD effects of resorcinol in zebrafish eleutheroembryos. We exposed zebrafish eleutheroembryos to resorcinol and assessed TH levels, swim bladder inflation and eye morphology. As a TPO inhibitor, resorcinol is expected to affect TH levels and eye morphology but not swim bladder inflation during embryonic development. Indeed, thyroxine (T4) levels were significantly decreased following resorcinol exposure. In contrast to our hypothesis, swim bladder inflation was impaired at 5 days post fertilization (dpf) and no effects on eye morphology were detected. Therefore, in vitro assays were performed to identify potential additional thyroid hormone system disruption-related mechanisms through which resorcinol may act. Two new mechanisms were identified: TH receptor (TR) antagonism and transthyretin (TTR) binding inhibition. Both of these mechanisms can plausibly be linked to impaired swim bladder inflation and could, therefore, explain the observed effect. Overall, our study contributes to the knowledge of the THSD potential of resorcinol both in vivo in the zebrafish model as well as in vitro.

In Search of a Target Gene for a Desirable Phenotype in Aquaculture: Genome Editing of Cyprinidae and Salmonidae Species

Aquaculture supplies the world food market with a significant amount of valuable protein. Highly productive aquaculture fishes can be derived by utilizing genome-editing methods, and the main problem is to choose a target gene to obtain the desirable phenotype. This paper presents a review of the studies of genome editing for genes controlling body development, growth, pigmentation and sex determination in five key aquaculture Salmonidae and Cyprinidae species, such as rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), Gibel carp (Carassius gibelio) and the model fish zebrafish (Danio rerio). Among the genes studied, the most applicable for aquaculture are mstnba, pomc, and acvr2, the knockout of which leads to enhanced muscle growth; runx2b, mutants of which do not form bones in myoseptae; lepr, whose lack of function makes fish fast-growing; fads2, Δ6abc/5Mt, and Δ6bcMt, affecting the composition of fatty acids in fish meat; dnd mettl3, and wnt4a, mutants of which are sterile; and disease-susceptibility genes prmt7, gab3, gcJAM-A, and cxcr3.2. Schemes for obtaining common carp populations consisting of only large females are promising for use in aquaculture. The immobilized and uncolored zebrafish line is of interest for laboratory use.

Thyroid and sex hormone disrupting effects of DEHTP at different life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP) is an alternative plasticizer widely used in numerous consumer products, replacing di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Hence, DEHTP has been frequently detected in the environment and humans. As a structural isomer and functional analog of DEHP, DEHTP is a suspected endocrine disruptor. Here, we evaluated thyroid-disrupting effects of DEHTP using embryo-larval and adult male zebrafish. We also investigated its sex hormone disruption potential in the adult zebrafish. After 5- and 7-days of exposure to DEHTP, significant increases in whole-body thyroid hormonal levels were observed in the larval fish. Down-regulation of several thyroid-regulating genes, including trh, tshβ, nis, and dio2, was observed, but only after 5-day exposure. Following a 21-day exposure, the adult male zebrafish exhibited a significant decrease in total triiodothyronine and an increase in thyroid-stimulating hormones. Potential changes in the deiodination of thyroid hormones, supported by the up-regulation of two deiodinases, dio1 and dio3a, along with the down-regulation of dio2, could explain the thyroid hormone changes in the adult zebrafish. Moreover, significant trends of decrease in estradiol and 11-ketotestosterone, along with increase of testosterone (T), were observed in the adult zebrafish. Up-regulation of several steroidogenic genes may explain elevated T, while exact mechanisms of action warrant further investigation. Our results demonstrate that DEHTP can cause disruptions of thyroid and sex hormones at different life stages in zebrafish.

Cross-species applicability of an adverse outcome pathway network for thyroid hormone system disruption

Thyroid hormone system disrupting compounds are considered potential threats for human and environmental health. Multiple adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) for thyroid hormone system disruption (THSD) are being developed in different taxa. Combining these AOPs results in a cross-species AOP network for THSD which may provide an evidence-based foundation for extrapolating THSD data across vertebrate species and bridging the gap between human and environmental health. This review aimed to advance the description of the taxonomic domain of applicability (tDOA) in the network to improve its utility for cross-species extrapolation. We focused on the molecular initiating events (MIEs) and adverse outcomes (AOs) and evaluated both their plausible domain of applicability (taxa they are likely applicable to) and empirical domain of applicability (where evidence for applicability to various taxa exists) in a THSD context. The evaluation showed that all MIEs in the AOP network are applicable to mammals. With some exceptions, there was evidence of structural conservation across vertebrate taxa and especially for fish and amphibians, and to a lesser extent for birds, empirical evidence was found. Current evidence supports the applicability of impaired neurodevelopment, neurosensory development (eg, vision) and reproduction across vertebrate taxa. The results of this tDOA evaluation are summarized in a conceptual AOP network that helps prioritize (parts of) AOPs for a more detailed evaluation. In conclusion, this review advances the tDOA description of an existing THSD AOP network and serves as a catalog summarizing plausible and empirical evidence on which future cross-species AOP development and tDOA assessment could build.

Deiodinase inhibition impairs the formation of the three posterior swim bladder tissue layers during early embryonic development in zebrafish

Thyroid hormone system disruption (THSD) negatively affects multiple developmental processes and organs. In fish, inhibition of deiodinases, which are enzymes crucial for (in)activating thyroid hormones (THs), leads to impaired swim bladder inflation. Until now, the underlying mechanism has remained largely unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the process during swim bladder development that is impacted by deiodinase inhibition. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 6 mg/L iopanoic acid (IOP), a model deiodinase inhibitor, during 8 different exposure windows (0-60, 60-120, 24-48, 48-72, 72-96, 96-120, 72-120 and 0-120 h post fertilization (hpf)). Exposure windows were chosen based on the three stages of swim bladder development: budding (24-48 hpf), pre-inflation, i.e., the formation of the swim bladder tissue layers (48-72 hpf), and inflation phase (72-120 hpf). Exposures prior to 72 hpf, during either the budding or pre-inflation phase (or both), impaired swim bladder inflation, while exposure during the inflation phase did not. Based on our results, we hypothesize that DIO inhibition before 72 hpf leads to a local decrease in T3 levels in the developing swim bladder. Gene transcript analysis showed that these TH level alterations disturb both Wnt and hedgehog signaling, known to be essential for swim bladder formation, eventually resulting in impaired development of the swim bladder tissue layers. Improper development of the swim bladder impairs swim bladder inflation, leading to reduced swimming performance. This study demonstrates that deiodinase inhibition impacts processes underlying the formation of the swim bladder and not the inflation process, suggesting that these processes primarily rely on maternal rather than endogenously synthetized THs since TH measurements showed that THs were not endogenously synthetized during the sensitive period.