Cited by 1,384Thyroid Disorders and TreatmentsEstrogen and related hormone effectsThyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Molecular Aspects of Thyroid Hormone Actions

Open access
Cheng, Sheue-Yann, Leonard, Jack L., Davis, Paul J.·2010·Endocrine Reviews

Abstract

Cellular actions of thyroid hormone may be initiated within the cell nucleus, at the plasma membrane, in cytoplasm, and at the mitochondrion. Thyroid hormone nuclear receptors (TRs) mediate the biological activities of T(3) via transcriptional regulation. Two TR genes, alpha and beta, encode four T(3)-binding receptor isoforms (alpha1, beta1, beta2, and beta3). The transcriptional activity of TRs is regulated at multiple levels. Besides being regulated by T(3), transcriptional activity is regulated by the type of thyroid hormone response elements located on the promoters of T(3) target genes, by the developmental- and tissue-dependent expression of TR isoforms, and by a host of nuclear coregulatory proteins. These nuclear coregulatory proteins modulate the transcription activity of TRs in a T(3)-dependent manner. In the absence of T(3), corepressors act to repress the basal transcriptional activity, whereas in the presence of T(3), coactivators function to activate transcription. The critical role of TRs is evident in that mutations of the TRbeta gene cause resistance to thyroid hormones to exhibit an array of symptoms due to decreasing the sensitivity of target tissues to T(3). Genetically engineered knockin mouse models also reveal that mutations of the TRs could lead to other abnormalities beyond resistance to thyroid hormones, including thyroid cancer, pituitary tumors, dwarfism, and metabolic abnormalities. Thus, the deleterious effects of mutations of TRs are more severe than previously envisioned. These genetic-engineered mouse models provide valuable tools to ascertain further the molecular actions of unliganded TRs in vivo that could underlie the pathogenesis of hypothyroidism. Actions of thyroid hormone that are not initiated by liganding of the hormone to intranuclear TR are termed nongenomic. They may begin at the plasma membrane or in cytoplasm. Plasma membrane-initiated actions begin at a receptor on integrin alphavbeta3 that activates ERK1/2 and culminate in local membrane actions on ion transport systems, such as the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger, or complex cellular events such as cell proliferation. Concentration of the integrin on cells of the vasculature and on tumor cells explains recently described proangiogenic effects of iodothyronines and proliferative actions of thyroid hormone on certain cancer cells, including gliomas. Thus, hormonal events that begin nongenomically result in effects in DNA-dependent effects. l-T(4) is an agonist at the plasma membrane without conversion to T(3). Tetraiodothyroacetic acid is a T(4) analog that inhibits the actions of T(4) and T(3) at the integrin, including angiogenesis and tumor cell proliferation. T(3) can activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase by a mechanism that may be cytoplasmic in origin or may begin at integrin alphavbeta3. Downstream consequences of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activation by T(3) include specific gene transcription and insertion of Na, K-ATPase in the plasma membrane and modulation of the activity of the ATPase. Thyroid hormone, chiefly T(3) and diiodothyronine, has important effects on mitochondrial energetics and on the cytoskeleton. Modulation by the hormone of the basal proton leak in mitochondria accounts for heat production caused by iodothyronines and a substantial component of cellular oxygen consumption. Thyroid hormone also acts on the mitochondrial genome via imported isoforms of nuclear TRs to affect several mitochondrial transcription factors. Regulation of actin polymerization by T(4) and rT(3), but not T(3), is critical to cell migration. This effect has been prominently demonstrated in neurons and glial cells and is important to brain development. The actin-related effects in neurons include fostering neurite outgrowth. A truncated TRalpha1 isoform that resides in the extranuclear compartment mediates the action of thyroid hormone on the cytoskeleton.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1210/er.2009-0007

Cites

299 of 299 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • TH, in the form of T3, classically acts by binding to cytosolic TH receptors (TRα1, TRβ1, and TRβ2) that bind to TH response elements on DNA and regulate expression of TH target genes.

    “TH, in the form of T3, has classically been considered to act by binding to cytosolic TH receptors (TR) (TRα1, TRβ1, and TRβ2) that bind to TH response elements on the DNA and regulate expression of TH target genes (canonical TH/TR action) (26,27).”

    From Evidence-Based Use of Levothyroxine/Liothyronine Combinations in Treating Hypothyroidism: A Consensus Document (2021) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Abstract describes T3-binding TR isoforms, their interaction with thyroid hormone response elements, and regulation of target-gene transcription. But the protein-trafficking section says the canonical view placed these receptors in the nucleus; it treats their presence in the cytoplasm as a surprising finding, not the location of canonical DNA-mediated action. The claim's description of the receptors as cytosolic is therefore not supported. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Both T3 and T4 following conversion into T3 bind to specific intracellular TR receptors exerting a repressive action on various genes, including TSHβ and to a lesser degree α-subunit.

    “Both T3 and T4 following its conversion into T3 bind to specific intracellular TR receptors exerting a repressive action on various genes, including TSHβ and, to a lesser degree, α-subunit (47–52).”
  • TH, in the form of T3, has classically been considered to act by binding to cytosolic TH receptors (TRα1, TRβ1, and TRβ2) that bind to TH response elements on DNA and regulate expression of TH target genes.

    “TH, in the form of T3, has classically been considered to act by binding to cytosolic TH receptors (TR) (TRα1, TRβ1, and TRβ2) that bind to TH response elements on the DNA and regulate expression of TH target genes (canonical TH/TR action) [26, 27].”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

2 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Cheng, S.-Y., Leonard, J. L., & Davis, P. J.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (US)
  • Albany Medical College (US)
Venue
Endocrine Reviews
Published
2010-04-01
Volume
31
Issue
2
Pages
139-170
ISSN
  • 0163-769X (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-7189
OpenAlex
W2021932599
Cited by
1,384
References
299
Citations by year
2026: 39 · 2025: 78 · 2024: 68 · 2023: 95 · 2022: 104 · 2021: 90 · 2020: 101 · 2019: 91 · 2018: 70 · 2017: 100 · 2016: 93 · 2015: 82 · 2014: 120 · 2013: 91 · 2012: 62
FWCI
11.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Endocrine Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Cancer Institute
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Thyroid Disorders and Treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Estrogen and related hormone effects
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
Keywords
thyroid hormones, thyroid hormone receptor, thyroid hormone receptor beta, TRα, transcriptional regulation, thyroid hormone response element, transcriptional coactivator, corepressors, thyroid hormone resistance, knockin mouse model, hypothyroidism, nongenomic thyroid hormone action, integrin αvβ3, ERK signaling, Na+/H+ exchanger, angiogenesis, glioma proliferation, tetraiodothyroacetic acid, levothyroxine
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Receptors, Thyroid Hormone, Thyroid Hormones, Thyroxine, Triiodothyronine

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review