Thyroid hormone receptor induction by triiodothyronine in tadpole erythrocytes in vivo and in vitro and the effect of cycloheximide and actinomycin-D.

Tadpole erythrocyte nuclei contain specific T3 binding sites which increase in number during spontaneous or T3-induced metamorphosis. In the present studies the increase in the number of T3 binding sites after a T3 injections appeared to be completely prevented by cycloheximide and actinomycin D, inhibitors of protein synthesis and RNA synthesis, respectively. However, in some experiments the effect was not statistically significant. The increase in sites was prevented only if the inhibitors were administered at 0 or 24 hr after T3 injection, but not at 48 or 72 hr after T3. When tadpole erythrocytes were incubated with T3 in vitro in M199 culture medium, the number of nuclear T3 binding sites increased within 48 hr. This increase was highly sensitive to inhibition by cycloheximide (maximal at 1 x 10(-6) M) or actinomycin D (maximal at 0.02 micrograms/ml). These inhibitor concentrations only slightly reduced the incorporation of labeled precursors. The T3 concentration required to induce a half-maximal increase in binding sites in vitro was about the same as the T3 concentration at which half the binding sites were occupied. The T3 binding sites had a high affinity for thyroid hormone analogs which stimulate metamorphosis. These results support the designation of the T3 binding sites as T3 receptors. They show that the tadpole erythrocytes respond to T3 with an increase in the number of T3 binding sites without the involvement of other tissues. It is proposed that this is a receptor induction involving synthesis of RNA and protein.