Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida , Tampa, Florida.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2018 Dec 1;315(6):L945-L950. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00336.2018. Epub 2018 Sep 27.
The story of thyroid hormone in human physiology is one of mixed emotions. Studying past literature on its use leads one to believe that it serves only a few functions in a handful of diseases. In reality, the pathophysiological role of thyroid hormone is an uncharted expanse. Over the past few decades, research on thyroid hormone has been understandably monopolized by studies of hypo- and hyperthyroidism and cancers. However, in our focused pursuit, we have neglected to observe its role in systems that are not so easily relatable. Recent evidence in lung disease suggests that the thyroid hormone is capable of preserving mitochondria in an indirect manner. This is an exciting revelation given the profound implications of mitochondrial dysfunction in several lung diseases. When paired with known links between thyroid hormone and fibrotic pathways, thyroid hormone-based therapies become more enticing for research. In this article, we inspect the sudden awareness surrounding thyroid hormone and discuss why it is of paramount importance that further studies scrutinize the potential of thyroid hormone, and/or thyromimetics, as therapies for lung diseases.
甲状腺激素在人类生理学中的故事是一个充满矛盾的故事。研究过去关于其用途的文献会让人相信，它在少数几种疾病中只具有几种功能。实际上，甲状腺激素的病理生理学作用是一个未知的广阔领域。在过去的几十年中，甲状腺激素的研究理所当然地被甲状腺功能减退症和甲状腺功能亢进症以及癌症的研究所垄断。然而，在我们的专注追求中，我们忽略了观察它在不易相关的系统中的作用。最近在肺部疾病中的证据表明，甲状腺激素能够以间接的方式保护线粒体。鉴于线粒体功能障碍在几种肺部疾病中具有深远的影响，这是一个令人兴奋的发现。当与甲状腺激素和纤维化途径之间已知的联系结合在一起时，基于甲状腺激素的治疗方法对于研究来说更具吸引力。在本文中，我们检查了甲状腺激素的突然出现，并讨论了为什么进一步研究仔细研究甲状腺激素的潜力以及（或）甲状腺激素激动剂作为肺部疾病的治疗方法至关重要。
