An acute injection of corticosterone increases thyrotrophin-releasing hormone expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus but interferes with the rapid hypothalamus pituitary thyroid axis response to cold in male rats.

The activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis is rapidly adjusted by energy balance alterations. Glucocorticoids can interfere with this activity, although the timing of this interaction is unknown. In vitro studies indicate that, albeit incubation with either glucocorticoid receptor (GR) agonists or protein kinase A (PKA) activators enhances pro-thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (pro-TRH) transcription, co-incubation with both stimuli reduces this enhancement.