8500 Fvb/Ant Mice Carrying the Thr92Ala-Dio2 Polymorphism Have a Goiter
Authors: Batistuzzo Alice , Bocco Barbara , McAninch Elizabeth , Ribeiro Miriam O , Bianco Antonio C 
Published: October 2024

Disclosure: A. Batistuzzo: None. B. Bocco: None. E. McAninch: None. M.O. Ribeiro: None. A.C. Bianco: Consulting Fee; Self; Abbvie.

Fvb/Ant Mice Carrying the Thr92Ala-Dio2 Polymorphism Have a Goiter Introduction: The Thr92Ala-DIO2 polymorphism is prevalent worldwide, with about 50% of the population carrying at least one polymorphic allele. Ala-D2 is ectopically located in the Golgi apparatus and causes endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. It is also about 40 % less active than Thr92-D2, thus T3 production could be compromised in carriers of the polymorphism. Objective: C57BL/6J (B6) mice carrying the Ala92-DIO2 polymorphism exhibit no significant thyroid phenotype as compared to control Thr92-Dio2 mice. Here we wished to test whether changing the genetic background of mice can influence the thyroidal impact of the Thr92Ala-DIO2 polymorphism. Therefore, we backcrossed B6-Thr92Ala-Dio2 mice to the FVB/Ant background for 8 generations. Methods: Mice were killed by asphyxiation in a CO2 chamber and blood collected from 7-18 weeks old female and male FVB/Ant Ala-Dio2 mice to measure plasma levels of TSH, T4, T3, and rT3. The thyroid gland was dissected, weighed and processed for histological analysis. The weight of the thyroid gland was normalized by femoral length. The QuPath Software was used for measuring follicular area, cell height, and the number of internalized follicular cells. Thr92-Dio2 mice of the same age and sex were used as controls. Data were analyzed using PRISM software and expressed as mean±SE (TH plasma levels and thyroid weight) or mean±SD (thyroid histology). A Student t-test was used to compare 2 groups. Results: Male and female Ala mice had significantly higher levels of TSH (males: 0.36±0.04 vs 1.1±0.21 ng/ml; p&lt;0.01 and females: 0.017±0.006 vs 0.12±0.06 ng/ml; p&lt;0.01), lower levels of plasmatic T4 (males: 2.9±0.2 vs 1.3±0.25 µg/dl; p&lt;0.01 and females: 2.1±0.16 vs 1.15±0.16 µg/dl; p&lt;0.001) and lower levels of rT3 (males: 23.8±2 vs 14.2±1.3 ng/dl; p&lt;0.001 and females: 16.45±1.4 vs 10.4±1.17 ng/dl; p&lt;0.01). Additionally, the thyroid gland of female polymorphic mice was heavier (4.3±0.39 vs 1.8±0.17 mg/cm; p&lt;0.001) and both sexes presented enlarged thyroid follicle area (males: 1464±1464 vs 2055±2443 µm2; p&lt;0.0001 and females: 1519±1364 vs 2597±2624 µm2; p&lt;0.0001) and a higher number of internalized follicular cells (females: 0.06±0.007 vs 0.17±0.008 internalized cells/follicle; p&lt;0.0001). No differences in the follicular cell height were observed. Discussion: In contrast to B6, FVB mice carrying the Thr92Ala-D2 polymorphism exhibit goiter, increased follicular area, slightly reduced serum T4 levels, and elevated serum TSH levels. These findings suggest that the impact of the Thr92Ala polymorphism varies according to the genetic background. They may explain why clinical studies of patients carrying the Thr92Ala-DIO2 polymorphism have yielded inconsistent results when different populations are analyzed.

Presentation: 6/3/2024