The Influence of Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism on α and β-Adrenergic Receptor Systems and Adrenergic Responsiveness*

Abstract

A detailed review has been conducted of studies addressing the subject of the influence of thyroid hormone on α- and β-adrenergic receptors and adrenergic responsiveness in a wide range of experimental animals and tissues. The studies summarized in the present article have been restricted to those in which explicit measurements of receptor number were made by the use of appropriate radioligands. Particular emphasis is given to an examination of the relationship between thyroid hormone-induced changes in α- and β-adrenergic receptor number and accompanying changes in adenylate cyclase activity and more distal adrenergic responses. Although in many instances thyroid hormone-induced changes in receptor number are reflected in coordinate changes in adrenergic sensitivity, this is shown to be by no means uniformly the case. In contrasting instances, modifications at other more distal sites in the sequence of events mediating catecholamine hormone action are responsible for biochemical and physiological changes in catecholamine responsiveness induced by thyroid hormone.