Abstract
The object of the study was to obtain information on how adipose tissue of normal subjects processes thyroid hormones. L-125 I-thyroxine (125I-T4) is bound by the cytosol fraction of normal human female breast adipose tissue with high affinity. Computer analysis of the binding data revealed the presence of two saturable systems with Kd values of 3.9 and 29.1 nM and binding capacities of 1.7 and 8.7 pmol/mg of cytosol protein, respectively; a third binding system was non-saturable. The binding of the iodothyronines to the cytosol fraction indicated that L-triiodo-thyronine (T3) possessed two-fold higher affinity as compared to L-thyroxine (T4) whereas other iodothyronines had relative affinities of less than 3%. Binding of 125I-T4 was optimal at pH 7.0 and was sensitive to the action of pronase and neuraminidase. Affinity chromatography of the cytosol fraction using T3-epoxy-sepharose 6B and con A-sepharose 4B, yielded a 125I-T4 binding component that was purified 150-fold. Isoelectric focusing of the purified fraction yielded six major bands of protein which had pi values comparable to those of human serum thyroxine-binding-globulin (TBG); however, the pattern of separation was different. Incubation of the fraction with 125I-T4 followed by isoelectric focusing and autoradiography revealed that the protein bands bound radioactivity. The microsomal fraction of the adipose tissue deiodinated 125I-T4 to L-125[-triiodothyronine (125I-T3) to an extent of 0–0.8 fmol/(mg of protein x min) which corresponded to about 0.2%; T4 was not deiodinated to L-3,3′,5′-triiodothyronine (r-T3). 125I-T3 was deiodinated to L-125I-3,3′-diiodothyronine; the conversion was 2.5%. These results show that adipose tissue of human breast contains a TBG-like protein or modified TBG which has high avidity for T4 and T3. The tissue is not an active source for the production of T3 or r-T3 from T4.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fain J.N. Hormonal regulation of lipid metabolism. In: Litwack G. (Ed.), Biochemical actions of hormones. Academic Press, New York, 1980, vol. VII, p. 119.
Salans L.B. Obesity and the adipose cell. In: Bondy P.K., Rosenberg L.E. (Eds.), Metabolic control and disease. W.B, Saunders Go, Philadelphia, 1980, p. 495.
Bray G.E., Greenway F.L. Pharmacological approaches to treating the obese patient. In: Albrink M.J. (Ed.), Clinics in endocrinology and metabolism. W.B. Saunders Co, London, 1976, vol. 5, p. 455.
Glass A.R., Burman K.D., Dahms W.T., Boehm T.M. Endocrine function in human obesity. Metabolism 30: 89, 1981.
Meinders A.E. Do thyroid hormones play a role in the treatment of obesity? Neth. J. Med. 24: 124, 1981.
Rao M.L., Rao G.S. A specific L-tri-iodothyronine binding protein in the cytosol fraction of human breast adipose tissue. Biochem. J. 206: 19, 1982.
Rao G.S., Cronrath C.M., Rao M.L. Induction of malic enzyme in expiants of human adipose tissue by L-3,5,3′-triiodothyronine. Horm. Metab. Res. (Suppl.) 14: 16, 1984.
Quednau H.D. LIBAFORM — Eine Computersprache zur symbolischen Verarbeitung mathematischer Formeln auf LISP-Basis. Ang. Inf. 18: 168, 1975.
Quednau H.D. Erweiterung des LIBAFORM-Systems zur automatischen Erzeugung von Programmen in höheren Programmiersprachen. Ang. Inf. 22: 194, 1980.
Quednau H.D., Jacobsen H.J. Biometrie evaluation of scatchard plot data from phytohormone binding studies. EDV. Med. Biol. 72: 83, 1981.
Quednau H.D. The use of a symbol processing computer language in point estimation of parameters and construction of confidence intervals. Biometr. J. 24: 145, 1982.
Quednau H.D., Rao M.L. Computerized approach toward estimation of binding parameters to characterize cooperative and non-cooperative multicomponent ligand-receptor interactions. Biometr. J. 76: 135, 1985.
Gärtner R., Henze R., Horn K., Pickardt C.R., Scriba P.C. Thyroxine-binding globulin: Investigation of microheterogeneity. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 52: 657, 1981.
Meinhold H., Wenzel K.W., Schümbrand P. Radioimmunoassay of 3,3′,5′-triiodo-L-thyronine (re verse T3) in human serum and its application in different thyroid states. Z. Klin. Chem. Klin. Biochem. 13: 571, 1975.
Kaplan M.M., Utiger R.D. lodothyronine metabolism in liver and kidney homogenates from hyperthyroid and hypothyroid rats. Endocrinology 103: 156, 1978.
Kaplan M.M. Changes in particulate subcellular component of hepatic thyroxine-5′-monodeiodinase in hyeprthyroid and hypothyroid rats. Endocrinology 105: 548, 1979.
Chopra I.J. Nature of the processes of and factors influencing production of T3s from T4. In: Chopra I.J. (Ed.), Triiodothyronines in health and disease. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1981, p. 105.
Gershengorn M.C., Glinoer D., Robbins J. Transport and metabolism of thyroid hormones. In: De Visscher M. (Ed.), The thyroid gland. Raven Press, New York, 1980, p. 81.
Nicoloff J.T. Thyroid hormone transport and metabolism: pathophysiologic implications. In: Werner S.C., Ingbar S.H. (Eds.), The thyroid. Harper & Row, New York, 1978, p. 88.
Ingbar S.H., Woeber K.H. The thyroid gland. In: Williams R.H. (Ed.), Textbook of endocrinology. W.B. Saunders Co, Philadelphia, 1981, p. 117.
Korcek L., Tabachnick M. Thyroxine-protein interactions. Interaction of thyroxine and triiodothyronine with human thyroxine-binding globulin. J. Biol. Chem. 251: 3558, 1976.
Leonard J.L., Mellen S.A., Larsen P.R. Thyroxine 5′-monodeiodinase activity in brown adipose tissue. Endocrinology 112: 1153, 1983.
Köhrle J. Biochemistry of iodothyronine deiodination: Importance of pH and regulatory iodothyronines. In: Hesch R.-D. (Ed.), The “low-T3-syndrome”. Proceedings of the Serono Symposia. Academic Press, London, 1981, vol. 40, p. 27.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rao, G.S., Rao, M.L., Quednau, H.D. et al. Further evidence for the presence of thyroxine binding globulin-like protein in human breast adipose tissue. Deiodination of thyroxine and triiodothyronine by the microsomal fraction. J Endocrinol Invest 8, 501–506 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03348547
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03348547