The Placental Transport, Synthesis and Metabolism of Hormones and Drugs which Affect Thyroid Function*

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Abstract
FETAL DEVELOPMENT is dependent upon the presence of the placenta. This organ, which interfaces the maternal and fetal vascular systems, not only regulates the transfer of various substrates from mother to fetus but also produces polypeptide hormones important for the maintenance of pregnancy, the induction of labor (1) and the synthesis and metabolism of steroid hormones necessary for the development of the fetus (2). In this review we will examine the role of the placenta on various aspects of maternal and fetal thyroid function including the transport, synthesis, and metabolism of hormones and compounds related to thyroid function. Transport In this section we will review the available information on the transport of thyroid and related hormones and compounds known to affect thyroid function. The role of the placenta in the transport of the iodothyronines has been studied in many species. In the rat, Hoskins et al. (3) demonstrated that the administration of large doses of thyroxine (T4) to prophylthiouracil (PTU) treated pregnant rats prevented fetal goiter.

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