Effect of excess iodide on thyroid function of rainbow trout,Salmo gairdneri.

The acute and chronic effects of excess iodide (KI or NaI) were studied on thyroid function of rainbow trout at 11±1°C. No Wolff-Chaikoff effect, characteristic of mammals, was observed and instead plasma L-thyroxine (T4) levels increased 6 hr after a single iodide injection. Plasma 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) did not change and by 24 hr plasma T4 returned to normal. This iodide-induced elevation in plasma T4 was probably not due to toxic effects demonstrated at higher NaI or KI doses. A single iodide injection also decreased the plasma iodide distribution space, decreased the fractional rate of plasma iodide loss and completely blocked thyroidal uptake of radioiodide. Injections of iodide over a 22-day period elevated plasma iodide 200X with no mortality and no influence on plasma T4 or T3. It is concluded that: (i) apart from the transient 6h increase in plasma T4, trout thyroid function, as judged by plasma hormone levels, is insensitive to considerable iodide excess, (ii) non-invasive iodide suppression of thyroidal radioiodide recycling may be useful in kinetic studies of(125)I-labeled thyroid hormones, and (iii) fundamental differences in intrathyroidal iodine metabolism appear to exist between mammals and fish.