[Thyroid hormone and cerebellum development: direct and indirect effects?]

Abstract

Thyroid hormone (T₃) exerts an important influence on neurodevelopment, which can be analysed by using the postnatal development of rodent cerebellum as a model. T₃ acts on all types of neuronal and glial cells, which express at least the TRα1 nuclear receptor, and, for some of them, the TRβ1 isoform. However, as T₃ also activates the secretion of neurotrophins, it can also affect cellular differentiation in an indirect manner. Ongoing experiments, based on mouse genetics and genome wide analysis of gene expression, provide a promising way to study the basic mechanisms of neurodevelopment. This review describes new mouse genetics models and recent advance in this field.