Molecular mechanisms of thyroid hormone transport

: the role of amino acid transporters

Abstract

Thyroid hormones (TH) exert their multitude of effects on body development,
growth and metabolism largely via transcriptional regulatory pathways. TH-induced transcription is controlled by receptors present in the cell nucleus,
therefore extracellular TH must first cross the plasma membrane to gain entry
into the cell. The exact mechanisms of TH transport across the plasma
membrane are only beginning to be clarified, but it is likely that transport may
be an important control step for the effects of TH on transcription. Members of
the recently cloned organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) family have
been shown to transport TH. Inhibitor studies indicate that both the aromatic
amino acid System T-type transporter, and the broad scope neutral amino acid
transporter System L are mediators of TH uptake into various cell types.
However cloned amino acid transporters have not been studied to demonstrate
directly whether they can accept TH as substrates.

Date of Award	2000
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Dundee
Sponsors	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Supervisor	Peter Taylor (Supervisor)