Studies on the thyroid in transgenic mice expressing the genes for human and bovine growth hormone.

The thyroid glands of transgenic mice (TM) expressing the genes for human (h) and bovine (b) growth hormone (GH) were studied. The percentages of larger follicles in hGH TM of either sex were significantly greater than in the corresponding normal littermates, and follicles ranging up to 350 microns in diameter were present in male hGH TM. In contrast, thyroid follicles were only slightly enlarged in male bGH TM, and were unchanged in female bGH TM. The serum concentrations of T4 were significantly decreased in male bGH TM and not altered in the other groups. Serum concentrations of T3 were slightly, but significantly increased in female hGH TM and female bGH TM, but were unaffected in male TM of either type. Since the principal difference between these foreign GHs in rodents is the additional lactogenic activity of human GH, these results may indicate that the effects of prolactin can influence the development of the thyroid.