Nongenomic Actions of Thyroid Hormone and Intracellular Calcium Metabolism

Abstract

Nongenomic actions of thyroid hormone include several that involve or require calcium. Actions of thyroid hormone at the plasma or intracellular membranes include stimulation of membrane glucose transport and of the Na + /H + antiporter (exchanger) by mechanisms that require liberation of intracellular calcium and stimulation of the cell membrane and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pumps (Ca 2+ -ATPases). These pumps not only transport Ca 2+ , but also are regulated by the intracellular calmodulin-Ca 2+ complex (plasma membrane/sarcolemma) or calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II phosphorylation of phospholamban (sarcoplasmic reticulum). Intracellular calcium ion concentration may also be subject to regulation by other nongenomic effects of iodothyronines, such as those on the Na + /H + antiporter or sodium current, that secondarily affect the Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger. Certain of these nongenomic actions of thyroid hormone, e.g., Na + / H + exchanger, Ca 2+ -ATPase, are now recognized to begin at a recently described hormone receptor on a heterodimeric structural membrane protein, integrin avb3. The thyroid hormone signal at this receptor is further transduced by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; extracellular regulated kinase1/2, ERK1/2) pathway.

Maternal-Fetal Thyroid Interactions

“…Interestingly, placental cells express high affinity, stereo-specific, energy-dependent uptake systems for T4 and T3. On the other hand, the cellular activity of THs is usually classified as genomic (nuclear) and non-genomic (initiated either at cytoplasm or at membrane TH receptors) [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Binding of T3 to its nuclear thyroid receptors (TRs) directly affects transcription of many genes that are important in development [22].…”