title: Thyroid hormone and astroglia: endocrine control of the neural environment.
abstract: Thyroid hormones (THs) play key roles in brain development and function. The lack of THs during childhood is associated with the impairment of several neuronal connections, cognitive deficits and mental disorders. Several lines of evidence point to astrocytes as TH targets and as mediators of TH action in the central nervous system; however, the mechanisms underlying these events are still not completely known. In this review, we focus on advances in our understanding of the effects of THs on astroglial cells and the impact of these effects on neurone-astrocyte interactions. First, we discuss the signalling pathways involved in TH metabolism and the molecular mechanisms underlying TH receptor function. Then, we discuss data related to the effects of THs on astroglial cells, as well as studies regarding the generation of mutant TH receptor transgenic mice that have contributed to our understanding of TH function in brain development. We argue that astrocytes are key mediators of hormone actions on development of the cerebral cortex and cerebellum and that the identification of the molecules and pathways involved in these events might be important for determining the molecular-level basis of the neural deficits associated with endocrine diseases.
authors: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: R S
authors: RS
authors: Dezonne
authors: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: F R S
authors: FR
authors: Lima
authors: Departamento de Biologia Celular, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Embriologia e Genética, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors: A G
authors: AG
authors: Trentin
authors: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: F C
authors: FC
authors: Gomes
mesh_terms: D001253:Astrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D013963:Thyroid Hormones
keywords: astrocyte; brain development; extracellular matrix molecules; growth factors; thyroid hormone receptors; thyroid hormones