L-Thyroxine sodium salt pentahydrate

Animal Administration [2]
Rats[2] Sprague-Dawley female rats (N=22) are used. Non-pregnant rats are divided into four groups: 1) control, 2) hypothyroidism, 3) hypothyroidism treated with low doses of L-Thyroxine (20 μg/kg/day) and 4) with high doses of L-Thyroxine (100 μg/kg/day). Control rats (group 1) are fed with standard diet, while the intervention rats are fed with iodine-free diet for 12 weeks to induce hypothyroidism (groups 2-4) which is continued for four more weeks to allow screening of hypothyroid status and L-Thyroxine-treatment. Food and water (iodine-free diet) are available ad libitum. The hypothyroid group treated with low (group 3) or high doses of L-Thyroxine (group 4) are injected intraperitoneally every 24 h with respectively 20 μg/kg/day and 100 μg/kg/day. Blood samples are collected for thyroid function screening at week 12 and 16 following the initiation of either the control or iodine-free diet. Hysterectomy is performed under general anesthesia (isoflurane 2%) at the end of the treatment and the two uterine horns are placed in physiological Krebs' solution until isometric tension measurements within no more than 1 h.

References:
[1]. Arici M, et al. Association between genetic polymorphism and levothyroxine bioavailability in hypothyroid patients. Endocr J. 2018 Jan 11. [2]. Corriveau S, et al. Levothyroxine treatment generates an abnormal uterine contractility patterns in an in vitro animalmodel. J Clin Transl Endocrinol. 2015 Sep 9;2(4):144-149.