Changes in tight junctions of thyroid epithelium with changes in thyroid activity.
The morphology of the tight junction of rat thyroid epithelium was examined in freeze-fractured material fixed in glutaraldehyde and briefly glycerinated.  In normal thyroids the overall appearance of this junctional specialization resembled that of other cell types in many respects.  Short-term changes in thyroid activity and hypophysectomy for 3 wk did not obviously affect the appearance of tight junctions.  Feeding of the goitrogen, thiouracil, which stimulates secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone, resulted in the appearance of some very narrow and some very wide, tight junctions or sometimes junctions with both wide and narrow regions within the same cell.
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D007016:Hypophysectomy; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D013889:Thiouracil / Q000494:pharmacology; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000494:pharmacology
D013889:Thiouracil; D013972:Thyrotropin