Publications by authors named "R Oelkrug"
Article Synopsis
- Thyroid disease impacts energy metabolism, temperature control, and anxiety, primarily through thyroid hormone receptor α1 (TRα1) in the brain, but the exact brain areas involved remain unclear.
- Researchers used PET-CT scans to find the most affected brain region, the zona incerta (ZI), and inhibited TRα1 signaling there to study its effects on metabolism and behavior in mice.
- The inhibition led to increased energy expenditure without affecting body temperature regulation, and heightened glucocorticoid levels were observed, indicating a link between altered thyroid hormone signaling in the ZI and stress responses, but not temperature control.
Article Synopsis
- Thyroid hormones play a crucial role in regulating body temperature and energy metabolism, with medical conditions like hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism directly affecting these processes.
- Recent research highlights the roles of specific thyroid hormone receptors, particularly TRα1 and TRβ, in body temperature regulation, although the exact functions and brain areas involved are still unclear.
- Experiments using mutant TRα1 mice and TRβ knockouts showed that TRα1 is vital for maintaining body temperature, with T3 treatment being effective in normalizing temperature in mutant mice, indicating it's crucial for setting the central temperature in the hypothalamus.
Article Synopsis
- Maternal thyroid hormones significantly influence fetal development, but the effects of maternal hyperthyroidism on offspring are not well understood.
- In a mouse study, maternal treatment with the thyroid hormone T3 during pregnancy improved glucose tolerance in male offspring and increased thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) in both sexes.
- The study found that proper maternal thyroid hormone receptor β (TRβ) signaling is crucial for these benefits, and alterations in maternal serum metabolites like choline were also observed, linking maternal TRβ activation to specific adaptations in offspring thermoregulation.
Article Synopsis
- Agonists targeting thyroid hormone receptor β (TRβ) have shown potential in treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in earlier studies, but recent findings indicate a decrease in TRβ expression in severe cases like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may hinder their effectiveness.
- A mouse study using a specific diet model confirmed a decline in TRβ during NASH development, but surprisingly, mice without TRβ had less liver damage and lower levels of NASH-related genes.
- Gene therapy that boosted TRβ in normal mice with NASH did not lead to improvements in liver condition or metabolic health, suggesting that the role of TRβ may be less significant than expected and that treatments should focus more on
Mutations in thyroid hormone receptor α1 (TRα1) cause Resistance to Thyroid Hormone α (RTHα), a disorder characterized by hypothyroidism in TRα1-expressing tissues including the heart. Surprisingly, we report that treatment of RTHα patients with thyroxine to overcome tissue hormone resistance does not elevate their heart rate. Cardiac telemetry in male, TRα1 mutant, mice indicates that such persistent bradycardia is caused by an intrinsic cardiac defect and not due to altered autonomic control.
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