The effect of maternal thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism) during pregnancy and lactation on skin development in wistar rat newborns.

Objective(s): Previous studies have shown that thyroid hormones are necessary for normal development of many organs and because of the importance of skin as the largest and the most important organ in human body protection in spite of external environment, the study of thyroid hormones effects on skin development is considerable. In this survey we have tried to study the effects of maternal hypothyroidism on skin development in fetus during pregnancy and lactation by immunohistochemistry technique.

Materials And Methods: Rats were divided into 4 groups, hypothyroids, hyperthyroids, hypothyroids are treated with levothyroxin and a control group. The rat mothers were exposed to PTU with 50 mg/lit dosage and levothyroxin with 1 mg/lit dosage and PTU and levothyroxin simultaneously and with the same dosage respectively in hypothyroid, hyperthyroid and treated hypothyroids with levothyroxin groups. After 14 days, blood sample was taken from mothers, and if thyroid hormones level had change well, mating was allowed. After pregnancy and delivery, 1th day dorsal skin (as the sample for pregnancy assay) and 10th day skin (as for lactation assay) was used for immunohystochemical and morphometric studies.

Results: In this study it was observed that maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy and lactation causes significant increase in laminin expression, in most areas of skin, and maternal hyperthyroidism during pregnancy and lactation causes significant decrease in laminin expression. Also significant decrease was observed in hair follicles number and epidermis thickness in hypothyroidism groups.

Conclusion: This study showed maternal hypothyroidism causes significant decrease in epidermis thickness and hair follicles number and it causes less hair in fetus. Also maternal hypothyroidism causes large changes in laminin expression in different parts of skin. At the same time,maternal hyperthyroidism causes opposite results. In fact, thyroid hormones regulate laminin expression negatively which means increase in thyroid hormone level, decreases laminin expression. So changes in thyroid hormones level can influence skin development significantly.