Interplay between thyroid hormone and estrogen in modulating expression of their receptor and vitellogenin genes during Xenopus metamorphosis.

Many postembryonic developmental processes are regulated by an intricate interplay among hormones and growth factors. Thyroid hormone (TH) and estrogen are well known to be individually and obligatorily required for the initiation and progression of amphibian metamorphosis and vitellogenesis. However, whether or not a possible interplay between these two hormones would affect these two developmental processes is not known. Here we report on how triiodothyronine (T3) enhances the precocious activation of vitellogenin (Vit) genes by estradiol (E2) in Xenopus tadpoles during metamorphosis. Using a combination of filter hybridization, RNase protection assay and in situ hybridization, we first show that very low doses (10(-9) M) of exogenous T3 will autoinduce thyroid hormone receptor (TR) mRNA in several tissues of premetamorphic tadpoles. The same treatment enhances and accelerates the precocious activation of the silent vitellogenin genes by E2 at metamorphic climax (stages 60-64) but not before mid-metamorphosis (stages 56-58). This developmental stage dependency may be explained by our finding that, under the same experimental conditions, T3 fails to alter the autoinduction of ER mRNA at mid-metamorphosis but strongly potentiates it at metamorphic climax. Thus a developmental stage specific interplay between thyroid hormone and estrogen determines the kinetics and extent of activation of vitellogenin and estrogen receptor genes during Xenopus postembryonic development.