Hyperthyroidism affects lipid metabolism in lactating and suckling rats.

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Two per thousand pregnant women have hyperthyroidism (HT), and although the symptoms are attenuated during pregnancy, they rebound after delivery, affecting infant development. To examine the effects of hyperthyroidism on lactation, we studied lipid metabolism in maternal mammary glands and livers of hyperthyroid rats and their pups. Thyroxine (10 microg/100 g body weight/d) or vehicle-treated rats were made pregnant 2 wk after commencement of treatment and sacrificed on days 7, 14, and 21 of lactation with the litters. Circulating triiodothyronine and tetraiodothyronine concentrations in the HT mothers were increased on all days. Hepatic esterified cholesterol (EC) and free cholesterol (FC) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations were diminished on days 14 and 21. Lipid synthesis, measured by incorporation of [3H]H2O into EC, FC, and TG, fatty acid synthase, and acetyl CoA carboxylase activities increased at day 14, while incorporation into FC and EC decreased at days 7 and 21, respectively. Mammary FC and TG concentrations were diminished at day 14; incorporation of [3H]H2O into TG decreased at days 7 and 21, and incorporation of [3H]H2O into FC increased at day 14. In the HT pups, growth rate was diminished, tetraiodothyronine concentration rose at days 7 and 14 of lactation, and triiodothyronine increased only at day 14. Liver TG concentrations increased at day 7 and fell at day 14, while FC increased at day 14 and only acetyl CoA carboxylase activity fell at day 14. Thus, hyperthyroidism changed maternal liver and mammary lipid metabolism, with decreased lipid concentration in spite of increased liver rate of synthesis and decreases in mammary synthesis. These changes, along with the mild hyperthyroidism of the litters, may have contributed to their reduced growth rate.