Mice with a targeted mutation in the thyroid hormone β receptor gene exhibit impaired growth and resistance to thyroid hormone

Abstract

Patients with mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor ␤ (TR␤) gene manifest resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH), resulting in a constellation of variable phenotypic abnormalities. To understand the molecular basis underlying the action of mutant TR␤ in vivo, we generated mice with a targeted mutation in the TR␤ gene (TR␤PV; PV, mutant thyroid hormone receptor kindred PV) by using homologous recombination and the Cre͞loxP system. Mice expressing a single PV allele showed the typical abnormalities of thyroid function found in heterozygous humans with RTH. Homozygous PV mice exhibit severe dysfunction of the pituitary-thyroid axis, impaired weight gains, and abnormal bone development. This phenotype is distinct from that seen in mice with a null mutation in the TR␤ gene. Importantly, we identified abnormal expression patterns of several genes in tissues of TR␤PV mice, demonstrating the interference of the mutant TR with the gene regulatory functions of the wild-type TR in vivo. These results show that the actions of mutant and wild-type TR␤ in vivo are distinct. This model allows further study of the molecular action of mutant TR in vivo, which could lead to better treatment for RTH patients. The thyroid hormone 3,3Ј,5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) regulates growth, development, and differentiation. Its actions are mainly mediated through thyroid hormone receptors (TRs), which are ligand-dependent transcription factors (1, 2). Three ligand-activated TR isoforms have been identified, TR␣1, TR␤1, and TR␤2, which are derived from the TR␣ and TR␤ genes, respectively. Each TR isoform has a unique developmental and tissue-specific expression (1, 2). TR binds to specific DNA sequences known as thyroid hormone response elements (TRE) in the promoter regions of T3 target genes. The transcriptional activity of TR depends not only on the types of TRE but also on a host of coregulatory proteins (3).RTH is a syndrome characterized by reduced sensitivity of tissues to the action of thyroid hormone. This condition is characterized by elevated levels of circulating thyroid hormones associated with normal or high levels of serum thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH) (4). The most common form of RTH is familial with autosomal dominant inheritance (4). Patients are usually heterozygotes with only one mutant TR␤ gene, and the symptoms are mild. Moreover, clinical manifestations are variable among families with RTH and also among affected family members. Some of the clinical features that have been reported include goiter, short stature, decreased weight, tachycardia, hearing loss, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, decreased IQ, and dyslexia (4). One single patient homozygous for a mutant TR␤ has been reported (5). This patient displayed a complex phenotype of extreme RTH with very high levels of thyroid hormone and TSH. Most TR␤ mutants derived from RTH patients have reduced T3-binding affinities and transcriptional capacities. These TR␤ mutants exhibit a dominant-negative effect when cotransfected with wild-type TRs (6, 7). TR␤ mutan...

PPARγ insufficiency promotes follicular thyroid carcinogenesis via activation of the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway

“…As TSH is a major regulator of thyrocyte proliferation (Rivas and Santisteban, 2003), we first compared thyroid hormone and TSH levels in TRb PV/PV PPARg þ / þ and TRb PV/PV PPARg þ /À mice. Consistent with previous findings (Kaneshige et al, 2000;Kato et al, 2004), total serum L-thyroxine (TT4) (Figure 4a PPARg insufficiency activates the NF-kB signaling pathway in thyroid tumors Using cDNA microarrays, we previously identified the NF-kB signaling as one of the altered pathways associated with thyroid carcinogenesis of TRb PV/PV PPARg þ / þ mice (Ying et al, 2003a). It has recently been shown that PPARg insufficiency causes activation of the NF-kB pathway in B cells of PPARg þ /À mice (Setoguchi et al, 2001).…”

“…The mice harboring the TRbPV gene were prepared and genotyped as described previously (Kaneshige et al, 2000). Two-month-old male TRb PV/PV mice were fed an AIN-76A diet (Bio Serve, Frenchtown, NJ, USA) mixed with (n ¼ 14) or without (n ¼ 13) rosiglitazone (20-80 mg/kg/day; Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA) for 7-8 months.…”

“…This mutant mouse was created by a targeted mutation of thyroid hormone b receptor (TRbPV) via homologous recombination and the CreLoxP system (Kaneshige et al, 2000). The thyroid hormone receptor b mutant (denoted as PV) was identified in a patient (PV) with resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) (Parrilla et al, 1991).…”

Thyroid hormone action in metabolic regulation

“…The different phenotypes could reflect the differences in their differential T3 binding ability, diverse potency of dominant negative effect, and variable interaction of nuclear receptor coregulators Tinnikov et al, 2002;Liu et al, 2003). Unlike the abnormalities in WAT found in TRα1 knock-in mice, no apparent change in mass or morphology of WAT was observed in TRβPV mice, in which PV was targeted to the TRβ gene locus (Kaneshige et al, 2000;Araki et al, 2009), indicating that TRα1 plays a critical role in the regulation of lipid homeostasis in WAT.…”

Thyroid hormone receptor β mutants: Dominant negative regulators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ action

“…We have created a mutant mouse by targeting a mutation (PV) to the TR␤ gene locus (TR␤PV mice) (3). PV was identified in a patient (PV) with resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) (4).…”