Thyroid hormones are crucial hormones that primarily regulate the metabolism of entire body cells. In this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were grouped into sham thyroidectomy (Sham Tx), thyroidectomy (Tx), Tx with thyroxine replacement (Tx + T4), and PTU injection (PTU) groups. Metabolic parameters were measured by means of metabolic cages for 14 days. After 14 days, the rats were sacrificed while the levels of plasma or serum TSH and growth-related molecules, such as active and total ghrelin, GH, and IGF-1, were assayed. The results revealed that hypothyroid rats tended to eat less food and experienced substantial body weight gain, whereas the rats with T4 replacement tended to eat more food OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2014, 19 11179 while continuing to lose weight. In hypothyroid rats, the growth-related molecules, such as active ghrelin and total ghrelin secretion, were enhanced, and the ghrelin receptors were also up-regulated. However, circulating GH levels were not elevated and IGF-1 secretion was inhibited in hypothyroid rats. In the Tx + T4 group, the changes of active ghrelin, total ghrelin, GHS-R expression, and IGF-1 were reversed, whereas the GH secretion was higher than that of the Sham Tx group and hypothyroid groups. This study resulted in the novel finding that the ghrelin/GHS-R axis and GH/IGF-1 axis are interrupted in hypothyroid rats.

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children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and only slightly more than half of patients with childhood-onset LN enter a renal remission. Thus, children with LN are at high risk of developing ESRD. Previous studies have shown that children with ESRD due to LN have increased risk of death compared to those with ESRD from all other causes. The outcomes of children with LN on dialysis are poorly characterized and little is known about specific risk factors for mortality and morbidity in children with LN on dialysis. Methods: To characterize hospitalization risk, mortality risk, and time to kidney transplantation among LN patients on dialysis, we conducted a retrospective analysis of North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS) registry data of children and adolescents <21 years of age initiating dialysis from 1991-2018. We included all patients with LN listed as their underlying cause of kidney disease (N¼238). Patients with non-lupus glomerular diseases (N¼2,006) served as the comparison group. Contingency tables used to compare risk of hospitalization within 1 year of dialysis initiation. Survival analysis used to compare time to mortality and transplantation and multivariable Cox regression models used to compare risk of death and likelihood of transplantation following dialysis initiation, adjusting for patient age, race, sex, index dialysis modality, hypertension, and anemia. Results: In comparison to the control group, patients with LN were more likely to be older (age >13 years), females, African American, and more likely to be receiving hemodialysis (p<0.01 for all). The number of concomitant medications they receive is also significantly more than the control group. They were more likely to be hospitalized in the first year following dialysis initiation (63.4% vs 50.4%, p<0.001), had a higher risk of death following dialysis initiation (Figure 1), even after adjusting for patient age, race, sex, and index dialysis modality (aHR¼2.09, 95% CI 1.25-3.35, p¼0.003). Children with LN also demonstrated a lower likelihood of receiving a kidney transplant following dialysis initiation ( Figure 2), even after adjusting for patient age, race, sex, index dialysis modality, hypertension, and anemia (aHR¼0.65, 95% CI 0.52-0.81, p<0.001).