Dietary iodine and thyroidal iodide transport in chickens: organic binding blocked.

Experimental data concerning the increase in T/S [I-] (ratio of concentration of radioiodide in thyroid to that in serum) during equilibration after a single injection of radioidide were obtained from chickens in which protein binding of radioidide was inhibted by methimazole. Equilibration data were obtained from chickens fed a low-iodine diet (2 mo) as well as the low-iodine diet to which various amounts of NaI had been added. Experimental data were compared with productions based on the open two-compartmental model of Wollman and Reed (Am. J. Physiol. 196: 113-120, 1959). Thyroidal clearance (C/m) of radioiodide (the rate at which radioiodide is transferred from blood into the thyroid and equal to the radioiodide content of C microliter serum per minute) varied inversely to iodine content of feed. Exit rate constant (KTB, the fraction of thyroidal radioiodide transferred to serum per minute) was relatively more constant. The experimental data fitted the predictions from the model within experimental error. Thirty days of feeding the low-iodine diet was required before C/m stabilized at 50 microliter/min per mg and KTB at 0.065; stabilization of C/m and KTB occurred in 12 days with the highest iodine diet.