Development of a new methodology for assessing fish and larvae nutritional status

Funder

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Organizational Unit

Publications

Transthyretin and thyroid hormone transport in fish and the effect of endocrine disruptors on this process

Publication . Morgado, Isabel; Power, Deborah; Melo, Eduardo P.

2007Doctoral thesis

Open Access

Hormone affinity and fibril formation of piscine transthyretin: the role of the N-terminal

Publication . Morgado, Isabel; Melo, Eduardo P.; Lundberg, Erik; Estrela, Nídia L.; Sauer-Eriksson, A. Elisabeth; Power, Deborah

Transthyretin (TTR) transports thyroid hormones (THs), thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) in the blood of vertebrates. TH-binding sites are highly conserved in vertebrate TTR however, piscine TTR has a longer N-terminus which is thought to influence TH-binding affinity and may influence TTR stability. We produced recombinant wild-type sea bream TTR (sbTTRWT) plus two mutants in which six (sbTTRM6) and twelve (sbTTRM12) N-terminal residues were removed. Ligandbinding studies revealed similar affinities for T3 (Kd=10.6±1.7nM) and T4 (Kd=9.8±0.97nM) binding to sbTTRWT. Affinity for THs was unaltered in sbTTRM12 but sbTTRM6 had poorer affinity for T4 (Kd=252.3±15.8nM) implying that some residues in the N-terminus can influence T4 binding. sbTTRM6 inhibited acid-mediated fibril formation in vitro as shown by fluorometric measurements using thioflavine-T.In contrast, fibril formation by sbTTRM12 was significant, probably due to decreased stability of the tetramer. Such studies also suggested that sbTTRWT is more resistant to fibril formation than human TTR.

2008Journal article

Open Access