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Thyroid hormone (T3)-dependent gene expression of the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) and the FAD-linked glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPDH) was investigated in several rat tissues. Both proteins provide an important link between cytosolic and mitochondrial metabolic pathways and seem to be involved in the stimulation of mitochondrial oxygen consumption in response to T3. Here we show that two ANT isoforms are expressed in rat, the muscle-specific ANT1 form and the ubiquitous ANT2 form. The expression of ANT1 mRNA is not sensitive to T3 whereas the amount of ANT2 mRNA is increased 7-9-fold in liver and heart within 12-48 h after T3 application. Little or no effect of T3 on ANT2 mRNA was observed in kidney and brain. The mRNA changes are paralleled by an increase in ANT protein, thus explaining the accelerated ADP/ATP exchange observed in mitochondria isolated from hyperthyroid rats. The key role of ANT2 in the control of hyperthyroid metabolism is evident because the expression of the mersalyl-sensitive phosphate carrier and the mitochondrial creatine kinase mRNA, which are functionally linked to ANT, did not respond to T3. Similarly to the ADP/ATP exchange, the transfer of cytosolic NADH to the respiratory chain via the glycerophosphate shuttle is very sensitive to T3. Recently we demonstrated the 10-15-fold induction of mGPDH mRNA in rat liver after administration of T3 Müller and Seitz (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91, 10581-10585. Here we show that, in contrast with ANT2, the time course of induction is fast (4-6 h). Furthermore, mGPDH mRNA is induced 6-fold by T3 in heart and 4-fold in kidney. From these results we conclude that the T3-mediated transcriptional induction leading to increased activity of ANT2 and mGPDH contributes considerably to the increase in mitochondrial oxygen consumption in rat tissues.
DÜMMLER et al. (Thu,) studied this question.