Thyroid hormones in fetal growth and prepartum maturation
- PMID: 24648121
- DOI: 10.1530/JOE-14-0025
Thyroid hormones in fetal growth and prepartum maturation
Abstract
The thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), are essential for normal growth and development of the fetus. Their bioavailability in utero depends on development of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid gland axis and the abundance of thyroid hormone transporters and deiodinases that influence tissue levels of bioactive hormone. Fetal T4 and T3 concentrations are also affected by gestational age, nutritional and endocrine conditions in utero, and placental permeability to maternal thyroid hormones, which varies among species with placental morphology. Thyroid hormones are required for the general accretion of fetal mass and to trigger discrete developmental events in the fetal brain and somatic tissues from early in gestation. They also promote terminal differentiation of fetal tissues closer to term and are important in mediating the prepartum maturational effects of the glucocorticoids that ensure neonatal viability. Thyroid hormones act directly through anabolic effects on fetal metabolism and the stimulation of fetal oxygen consumption. They also act indirectly by controlling the bioavailability and effectiveness of other hormones and growth factors that influence fetal development such as the catecholamines and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). By regulating tissue accretion and differentiation near term, fetal thyroid hormones ensure activation of physiological processes essential for survival at birth such as pulmonary gas exchange, thermogenesis, hepatic glucogenesis, and cardiac adaptations. This review examines the developmental control of fetal T4 and T3 bioavailability and discusses the role of these hormones in fetal growth and development with particular emphasis on maturation of somatic tissues critical for survival immediately at birth.
Keywords: intrauterine growth; maturation; neonatal adaptation; thyroid hormones.
© 2014 Society for Endocrinology.
Similar articles
-
Thyroid Hormone Deficiency Suppresses Fetal Pituitary-Adrenal Function Near Term: Implications for the Control of Fetal Maturation and Parturition.Thyroid. 2021 Jun;31(6):861-869. doi: 10.1089/thy.2020.0534. Epub 2020 Nov 26. Thyroid. 2021. PMID: 33126831
-
Endocrine interactions in the control of fetal growth.Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2013;74:91-102. doi: 10.1159/000348417. Epub 2013 Jul 18. Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2013. PMID: 23887107 Review.
-
Thyroid hormones and 5'-deiodinase in the rat fetus late in gestation: effects of maternal hypothyroidism.Endocrinology. 1991 Jan;128(1):422-32. doi: 10.1210/endo-128-1-422. Endocrinology. 1991. PMID: 1986934
-
Changes in thyroxine, 3,3',5-triiodothyronine and 3,3'5'-triiodothyronine content in the thyroid gland and in serum to thyroid tissue iodothyronine ratios during ontogenesis in the fetal pig.Acta Vet Hung. 2004;52(4):379-87. doi: 10.1556/AVet.52.2004.4.1. Acta Vet Hung. 2004. PMID: 15595272
-
Endocrine regulation of fetal metabolism towards term.Domest Anim Endocrinol. 2022 Jan;78:106657. doi: 10.1016/j.domaniend.2021.106657. Epub 2021 Aug 10. Domest Anim Endocrinol. 2022. PMID: 34525421 Review.
Cited by
-
Analysis of free, unbound thyroid hormones by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: A mini-review of the medical rationale and analytical methods.Anal Sci Adv. 2023 Aug 2;4(7-8):244-254. doi: 10.1002/ansa.202200067. eCollection 2023 Aug. Anal Sci Adv. 2023. PMID: 38716305 Free PMC article. Review.
-
It is time to explore the impact of length of gestation and fetal health on the human lifespan.Aging Cell. 2024 Apr;23(4):e14157. doi: 10.1111/acel.14157. Epub 2024 Apr 1. Aging Cell. 2024. PMID: 38558485 Free PMC article.
-
Associations of Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardant Exposures during Pregnancy with Gestational Duration and Fetal Growth: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.Environ Health Perspect. 2024 Jan;132(1):17004. doi: 10.1289/EHP13182. Epub 2024 Jan 24. Environ Health Perspect. 2024. PMID: 38262621 Free PMC article.
-
Maternal isolated hypothyroxinemia in the first trimester is not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, except for macrosomia: a prospective cohort study in China.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Dec 14;14:1309787. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1309787. eCollection 2023. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023. PMID: 38161973 Free PMC article.
-
Additional effects using progestins in mares on levels of thyroid hormones and steroids in neonates.Anim Reprod. 2023 Dec 18;20(4):e20230029. doi: 10.1590/1984-3143-AR2023-0029. eCollection 2023. Anim Reprod. 2023. PMID: 38148929 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical