The hypothesis tested was whether marginal iodine deficiency for a period of 6 wk affects iodothyronine deiodinase activities in liver and brain of rats. Male rats were fed purified diets either deficient or sufficient in iodine; the diets were fed on a restricted basis (60% of ad libitum intake). Body weight gain of the two groups was comparable. Iodine deficiency was evidenced by increased thyroid weight (26%), reduced urinary iodine excretion (80%), and reduced plasma T4 concentrations (22%). Activities of liver type I and brain type III deiodinase were unchanged, but the activity of type II deiodinase in brain was increased (28%) in the iodine-deficient rats. Food restriction per se significantly lowered T3 (30%) and T4 (22%) concentrations in plasma and decreased type III deiodinase activity in brain (30%). These results indicate that in marginal iodine deficiency the activities of hepatic type I deiodinase and brain type III deiodinase are unchanged, whereas that of brain type II deiodinase is increased.

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doi.org/10.1007/BF02950796, hdl.handle.net/1765/69728
Biological Trace Element Research
Department of Internal Medicine

Janssen, K., van der Heide, D., Visser, T., Kaptein, E., & Beynen, A. (1994). Thyroid function and deiodinase activities in rats with marginal iodine deficiency. Biological Trace Element Research, 40(3), 237–246. doi:10.1007/BF02950796