Mitochondrial binding of triiodothyronine (T3). Demonstration by electron-microscopic radioautography of dispersed liver cells.

To assess the distribution of the thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) within intact living cells, freshly prepared dispersed rat hepatocytes were incubated with [125I]-T3 for periods of 5 min and 30 min. Light- and electron-microscopic (EM) radioautography was carried out to determine the distribution of grains over the isolated cells. Both procedures showed the grains distributed almost entirely over the cytoplasmic matrix rather than the nucleus. Grain counts under the EM were compared with expectation based on established quantitative methods. Only the mitochondria showed obvious and statistically significant grain counts, whereas the nucleus failed to accumulate grains in excess of expectations by chance alone based on area. The findings support the existence of mitochondrial binding of T3, presumably a prerequisite for its action in direct stimulation of the mitochondria.