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Isolated sheep thyroid follicles release specific insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs). Since IGFBPs can modulate IGF bioactivity, at least in vitro, their presence in thyroid tissue may influence synergistic interactions between TSH and endogenous IGF-I or -II which are known to control both thyroid growth and function. We have examined the hormonal control of IGFBP release in relation to iodine organification. Sheep thyroid follicles were isolated by incubation with collagenase and differential centrifugation, grown in Coon's modified Ham's F12M medium with the addition of transferrin, glycylhistidyl-lysine, somatostatin (3H), TSH, cortisol and insulin (6H), and maintained in OH (hormone-free) or 3H medium with or without further supplements for 48 h. Conditioned culture medium was separated by 8% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, transferred to nitrocellulose and incubated with 125I-labelled IGF-II followed by autoradiography (ligand blot). Additionally, the radioactive bands were cut from the filters and quantified by gamma-spectrometry. Iodine organification was assessed by incubation of follicles with 10(6) c.p.m. Na125I for 3 h before washing, solubilization in 0.1 mol NaOH/l and the precipitation of organified radioisotope with 10% (v/v) trichloroacetic acid. Cells conditioned in OH or 3H medium released specific IGFBPs of 46, 34, 28 and 19 kDa on ligand blot analysis. The proteins of 34 and 19 kDa were immunopositive on Western blot analysis using anti-bovine IGFBP-2 antiserum. The 46-kDa IGFBP was retained by Concanavalin A-Sepharose chromatography and demonstrated to be glycoprotein. This is probably ovine IGFBP-3. The addition of TSH, or TSH plus cortisol to OH or 3H medium significantly decreased the 125I-labelled IGF-II associated with the 34- and 28-kDa IGFBP species. All IGFBP species were substantially reduced in 6H medium, which was predominantly due to the effects of TSH and cortisol. When total 125I-labelled IGF-II associated with IGFBPs was considered, a significant (P less than 0.01) inverse correlation existed between IGFBP activity and iodine organification in the same cultures; the latter being greatest in OH or 3H medium supplemented with TSH and cortisol. None of these hormone additions altered the endogenous release of IGF-II by the cells. These results suggest that endogenous IGFs, under hormonal control, may modulate the action of endogenous IGF in the regulation of thyroid function.

Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with lead chloride (20 or 200 ppm) or sodium chloride (controls) in their drinking water, either prior to pregnancy or during pregnancy and lactation, and female offspring were examined at weaning (21 d) or at 150 d. Other female rats were treated from d 21 to 35. Tissue (blood, kidney, bone) lead levels, body, ovary, and uterus weights, ovarian steroidogenesis, and gonadotropin (luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone) levels, and gonadotropin-receptor binding were determined. Prenatal and/or postnatal exposure to lead at these levels (20 and 200 ppm) did not affect tissue weights but did cause a significant decrease in gonadotropin-receptor binding in the prepubertal, pubertal and adult females. Conversion of progesterone to androstenedione and dihydrotestosterone was significantly decreased in 21-d-old rats; in 150-d-old females, the prenatal and/or postnatal exposure to lead resulted in significantly increased conversion to the 5-alpha-reduced steroids, normally high during puberty. The results demonstrate that lead exposure prior to mating may affect gonadotropin-receptor binding in the offspring and that lead exposure (in utero, via mother's milk, or post weaning) may significantly alter steroid production and gonadotropin binding in ovaries of the prepubertal, pubertal, and adult female.

We have characterized the insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGF-BPs) released by isolated sheep thyroid epithelial cells. Thyroid follicles were isolated with collagenase and cultured in Coon's modified F-12 M (0H medium) supplemented with insulin, cortisol, transferrin, glycyl-histidyl-lysine and somatostatin (5H medium) and TSH (6H medium). Conditioned 0H medium specifically bound both 125I-labelled IGF-I and -II, although binding capacity was reduced following acid-gel filtration to separate endogenous IGF-BP complexes, suggesting some destruction of BPs. The binding of 125I-labelled IGF-I or -II to conditioned (0H) medium was progressively displaced by increasing amounts of unlabelled homologous peptides, while fractionation on concanavalin A-Sepharose showed that the IGF-BPs consisted of both glycoprotein and non-glycoprotein components. The molecular sizes of the IGF-BPs were resolved by separation of 0H medium on SDS-PAGE and ligand blot analysis with 125I-labelled IGF-I or -II. Conditioned medium contained four specific binding species for IGF-II of 19, 30, 38 and 46 kDa; all but the smallest also binding radiolabelled IGF-I. Prior fractionation on concanavalin A-Sepharose showed that the 46 kDa binding species was a glycoprotein. Competition studies with increasing concentrations of unlabelled IGF-I or -II during ligand blotting suggested that the 46 and 30 kDa binding species had a greater affinity for IGF-II than IGF-I, while the 38 kDa had a greater relative affinity for IGF-I. Incubation of cells in 5H medium reduced the abundance of the 46 kDa binding protein, while incubation in 6H medium decreased the release of all binding protein species. Results show that isolated thyroid follicles released several forms of IGF-BP with differing relative affinities for IGF-I and -II. Gross changes seen in the presence of BPs between 0H, 5H and 6H media suggest acute hormonal control of release.

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