Site of iodination in hyperplastic thyroid glands deduced from autoradiographs.

We have tried to ascertain the site of iodination in the chronically stimulated, hyperplastic thyroid gland of rats. Rats were fed propylthiouracil in a commercial rat diet for 10 days. Then the diet was changed to a low iodine diet for 5 days. To label the gland, 10 mCi of 125I-iodide was injected into the left heart ventricle. Ten seconds later the animal was perfused through the left ventricle with a fixative solution containing a goitrogen to block further iodination, and stable iodide to help extract uncombined radioiodide. Electron microscopic autoradiographs prepared from the fixed thyroids show strong labeling over the lumen of the follicle and no consistent labeling of any other site or organelle. We conclude that the site of iodination in the chronically stimulated, hyperplastic thyroid is the follicular lumen, i.e. the same as that in the normal gland.