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Thyroid hormones and seasonal reproductive neuroendocrine interactions

¹ Division of Biomodeling, Laboratory of Animal Functional Genomics² Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Avian Bioscience Research Center and³ Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Correspondence should be addressed to T Yoshimura; Email: takashiy{at}agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Many animals that breed seasonally measure the day length (photoperiod) and use these measurements as predictive information to prepare themselves for annual breeding. For several decades, thyroid hormones have been known to be involved in this biological process; however, their precise roles remain unknown. Recent molecular analyses have revealed that local thyroid hormone activation in the hypothalamus plays a critical role in the regulation of the neuroendocrine axis involved in seasonal reproduction in both birds and mammals. Furthermore, functional genomics analyses have revealed a novel function of the hormone thyrotropin. This hormone plays a key role in signaling day-length changes to the brain and thus triggers seasonal breeding. This review aims to summarize the currently available knowledge on the interactions between elements of the thyroid hormone axis and the neuroendocrine system involved in seasonal reproduction.

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