Congenital Hypothyroidism Flashcards
Thyroid Development
a. First endocrine gland to develop
b. Arises from 2 distinct embryonic lineages:
1) follicular cells (endodermal pharynx) - produce
thyroxine
2) parafollicular C-cells (neural crest) – produce
calcitonin
c. Gland originates as proliferation of
endodermal epithelial cells on median surface
of pharyngeal floor between 1st and 2nd arches
d. Initially hollow, then solidifies and becomes
bilobed
e. Thyroid connected to tongue via thyroglossal
duct as it begins initial descent
i. Completes its descent in 7th gestational week
Thyroid Development- Thyroid Gland Develops
a. Arises from 2 distinct embryonic lineages:
b. follicular cells (endodermal pharynx) - produce
thyroxine
c. parafollicular C-cells (neural crest) – produce
calcitonin
Thyroid Development
a. Gland originates as proliferation of
endodermal epithelial cells on median surface
of pharyngeal floor between 1st and 2nd arches
b. Initially hollow, then solidifies and becomes
bilobed
c. Thyroid connected to tongue via thyroglossal
duct as it begins initial descent
i. Completes its descent in 7th gestational week
Arrested Migration of
Thyroid
a. Thyroid gland should move down duct from behind the tongue
b. Can arrest at many different points of the thyroglossal duct
c. Will still produce thyroid hormone, but cannot form enough follicular cells, will not have thyroid hormone
i. due to thyroid gland not moving down enough
Thyroid Development
a. Following migration (10-12 weeks), thyroid follicular cells undergo further differentiation characterized by the expression of genes that are essential for thyroid hormone synthesis
b. Thyroid gland begins to trap iodide and secrete thyroid hormones at 10-12 weeks
Maternal iodine crosses placenta
a. Iodine from mother will cross into the placenta (for the baby)
b. Iodine will cross basolateral side of follicular cell
c. Fetus will still have organification of Iodide and have it attach to thyroglobulin’s Tyrosine residues
d. T3 will have 3 Iodide residues, while T4 will have 4 Iodide residues
e. Thyroid Gland makes predominantly T4 hormone
i. Rest of cells in body will turn T4 into T3
T4, T3, and rT3
a. Active–> both of these Deiodinase will turn T4—->T3 (active form)
Type 1 Deiodinase
Type II Deiodinase
b. Inactive
Type III Deiodinase
i. Create rT3 (reverse T3)
ii. is being inactivated
Thyroid Development
a. Maturation of thyroid function in the fetus reflects changes at the level of the thyroid as well as hypothalamus and pituitary
b. TSH detectable in serum at 12 weeks gestation
c. Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis functional at midgestation and feedback control evident by 25 weeks
Thyroid Development
a. Both TSH and T4 gradually increase to term
b. Within 30 minutes after birth, TSH rises to levels of 60-80 uU/ml
i. TSH rise results in increases in T4 and T3
levels by 24 hours
ii. TSH will drop drastically 40 hours after birth, due to T3 and T4 getting TSH to lower by negative feedback
What if the fetus doesn’t make
thyroid hormone?
a. Placenta allows passage of small quantities of maternal T4 (in athyrotic neonates, cord blood T4 level is about 25-30% normal)
i. some of maternal T4 enters the placenta–> critical for fxn
ii. not good if mother is Hypothyroidism
b. Fetal brain rich in type II deiodinase which converts T4 into active hormone T3
i. uses the T4 that passes into placenta
c. Both of these play critical roles in minimizing
adverse effects of fetal hypothyroidism
Congenital Hypothyroidism
a. Lack of thyroid hormones present from birth - if not detected and treated early, it is associated with irreversible neurological problems and poor growth
b. Prevalence in US historically ~1:4000 live births but over last 2 decades decreased to 1:2000
c. Prevalence higher in Hispanic and Asian Americans and less common in black Americans
d. As many as 5-10% may have other congenital
anomalies (cardiac, nervous system, eye)
i. nervous and cardiac deffects can be irreversible
e. Newborn screening allows for early detection and treatment
Causes of Congenital
Hypothyroidism
*know these for test
- Defect in thyroid gland development – thyroid
dysgenesis
i. mutations in genes for thyroid descent
ii. mutations in transcription factors for thyroid devlopment - Defects in thyroid hormone synthesis – thyroid
dyshormonogenesis
i. unable to synthesize thyroid hormone - TSH resistance
- Transient forms
- Central (Hypothalamic/ Pituitary deficiencies)
Thyroid Dysgenesis
a. Accounts for 85% of congenital hypothyroidism
b. Aplasia , hypoplasia, or ectopy
c. Female to male predominance 2:1
d. Cause unknown in most cases but evidence
supports some underlying genetic component
e. ~2% are caused by a mutation in one of the
transcription factors important for thyroid
development
Thyroid dysgenesis
- Transcription factor defect PAX8 (paired box gene 8)
i. Autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance
ii. Phenotypes vary from mild to severe hypoplasia
iii. Can have compensated or overt hypothyroidism
iv. Few cases assoc w/ renal agenesis - Transcription factor defect TITF1(thyroid transcription factor 1)
i. Also expressed in the lung, forebrain, and pituitary
gland
ii. Humans with heterozygous mutations associated
with various combinations of CH, respiratory distress and neurological disorders - Transcription factor defect TITF2
i. Homozygous mutations result in Bamforth-Lazarus
syndrome: CH, cleft palate, spiky hair, and variably bifid epiglottis and choanal atresia
Patients with TITF-2 mutations
Picture of patient on slide
a. Patients with TITF-2 mutations, showing
spiky hair, micrognathia, and hypertelorism (A), and cleft palate
b. Transcription factor defect TITF2
i. Homozygous mutations result in Bamforth-Lazarus
syndrome: CH, cleft palate, spiky hair, and variably bifid epiglottis and choanal atresia