Abstract
The administration of either glucocorticoids (dexamethasone or corticosterone) or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to chicken embryos was followed by increase in the circulating concentration of triiodothyronine (T3), the T3 to thyroxine (T4) ratio and the activity of liver T4-5′ monodeiodinase. No consistent changes in plasma concentrations of T4 or GH were observed. In post-hatching chicks, corticosterone and dexamethasone depressed the circulating concentrations of both T4 and T3. Iopanic acid, an inhibitor of liver T4-5′ monodeiodinase, elevated plasma concentrations of T4 and depressed those of T3, in both chicken embryos and young chicks. It is suggested that glucocorticoids affect circulating concentrations of T4 and T3 both by affecting the activity of the liver T4-5′ monodeiodinase and by influencing the hypothalamo-pituitary axis.

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