Vet Pathol Email Content Delivery
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tsujio, M.
Right arrow Articles by Mutoh, K.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tsujio, M.
Right arrow Articles by Mutoh, K.
Vet Pathol 45:505-511 (2008)
© 2008 American College of Veterinary Pathologists
LABORATORY ANIMALS

Skin Morphology of Thyroidectomized Rats

M. Tsujio, K. Yoshioka, M. Satoh, Y. Watahiki and K. Mutoh

Department of Veterinary Anatomy, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Kitasato University, Towada-shi, Aomori, Japan

Abstract

We induced hypothyroidism in rats by conducting a thyroidectomy (TD) and investigated subsequent changes in the morphology of the skin, especially that of the epidermis and hair follicles. The 6 rats in the TD group seemed less active than the 3 rats in the control group and had cold, dry paws. All of the rats in the TD group exhibited retarded hair growth 12 weeks after surgery. Histologically, all of the rats in the TD group exhibited epidermal thinning from 12 weeks after surgery. Many hair follicles were in the telogen phase: the bulbs and papillae were involuted and had migrated towards the epidermis. Hair follicle atrophy involving thinning of the outer root sheath and the inner root sheath was often observed. The immunoreactivities of antithyroid hormone receptors {alpha} and β in the outer root sheaths of 5 of the TD rats were weaker than those of control rats. Cell proliferation in hair follicles of TD rats was weaker than in follicles of control rats 4 weeks after surgery. It is suggested that decreased expression of TRs and decreased cell proliferation activity in the hair follicles of rats is associated with a lack of thyroid hormone and results in retardation of hair growth.

Key words: Hair follicle; hypothyroidism; thyroid hormone receptors; thyroidectomy.

Request reprints from K Yoshioka, Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Kitasato University, 35-1 Higashi 23 Banchou, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, (Japan). E-mail: yoshioka{at}vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.