Thyroid peroxidase, also called thyroperoxidase (TPO), thyroid specific peroxidase or iodide peroxidase, is an enzyme expressed mainly in the thyroid where it is secreted into colloid. Thyroid peroxidase oxidizes iodide ions to form iodine atoms for addition onto tyrosine residues on thyroglobulin for the production of thyroxine (T4) or triiodothyronine (T3), the thyroid hormones.[1] In humans, thyroperoxidase is encoded by the TPOgene.[2]
Function
Inorganic iodine enters the body primarily as iodide, I−. After entering the thyroid follicle (or thyroid follicular cell) via a Na+/I− symporter (NIS) on the basolateral side, iodide is shuttled across the apical membrane into the colloid via pendrin after which thyroid peroxidase oxidizes iodide to atomic iodine (I) or iodinium (I+). The chemical reactions catalyzed by thyroid peroxidase occur on the outer apical membrane surface and are mediated by hydrogen peroxide.
The "organification of iodine", the incorporation of iodine into thyroglobulin for the production of thyroid hormone, is nonspecific; that is, there is no TPO-bound intermediate, but iodination occurs via reactive iodine species released from TPO. Ascidians (tunicates or sea squirts) and amphioxus, which are close invertebrate relatives of vertebrates, have a primitive homolog of the thyroid known as the endostyle. They do not have a thyroglobulin gene that produce a protein intended specifically for making thyroxine, but do produce thyroxine. Presumably they simply rely on the nonspecific action.[4]
Catalyzed reaction
The reactions registered with Enzyme Commission no. 1.11.1.8 are:
Conversion of iodide to diiodine, 2 I- + H2O2 + 2 H+ = I2 + 2 H2O
Coupling to produce T4, 2 [thyroglobulin]-3,5-diiodo-L-tyrosine + H2O2 = [thyroglobulin]-L-thyroxine + [thyroglobulin]-dehydroalanine + 2 H2O
Coupling to produce T3, [thyroglobulin]-3-iodo-L-tyrosine + [thyroglobulin]-3,5-diiodo-L-tyrosine + H2O2 = [thyroglobulin]-3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine + [thyroglobulin]-dehydroalanine + 2 H2O
However, in light of the non-specific organification by TPO, it would be useful to distinguish which actions are the "true" functions of TPO. Under the model of Kessler et al. (2008), the real functions of TPO are:[4]
Conversion of iodide to diiodine, as in reaction (1) above. The I2 produced would go on to react with OH- to form HOI, which reacts with the tyrosyl residue on proteins such as thyroglobulin, explaining the reactions (2) and (3) above.
Generation of free radicals from tyrosyl, 3-iodotyrosyl (MIT), and 3,5-diiodotyrosyl (DIT) residues or their free forms. These free radicals couple with iodized proteins (such as [thyroglobulin]-3,5-diiodo-L-tyrosine) to perform reactions (4) and (5).
Both actions are mediated by the oxidized form of TPO, TPO-O, produced by reaction of TPO with hydrogen peroxide.[4]
Side reactions
T3 is produced when a MIT free radical couples to a DIT residue on a protein. Coupling of DIT to MIT in the opposite order yields a substance, r-T3, which is biologically inactive.[5][6]T2 and T1 are also known to occur naturally.[7]
Stimulation and inhibition
TPO is stimulated by TSH, which upregulates gene expression.
^Walter F., PhD. Boron (2003). Medical Physiology: A Cellular And Molecular Approaoch. Elsevier/Saunders. p. 1300. ISBN1-4160-2328-3.
^ abcKessler J, Obinger C, Eales G (Jul 2008). "Factors influencing the study of peroxidase-generated iodine species and implications for thyroglobulin synthesis". Thyroid. 18 (7): 769–74. doi:10.1089/thy.2007.0310. PMID18631006.
^Nagasaka A, Hidaka H (Jul 1976). "Effect of antithyroid agents 6-propyl-2-thiouracil and 1-methyl-2-mercaptoimidazole on human thyroid iodine peroxidase". The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 43 (1): 152–8. doi:10.1210/jcem-43-1-152. PMID947933.
^McLachlan SM, Rapoport B (2000). "Autoimmune response to the thyroid in humans: thyroid peroxidase--the common autoantigenic denominator". International Reviews of Immunology. 19 (6): 587–618. doi:10.3109/08830180009088514. PMID11129117. S2CID11431166.
^Marmelstein AM, Lobba MJ, Mogilevsky CS, Maza JC, Brauer DD, Francis MB (18 March 2020). "Tyrosinase-Mediated Oxidative Coupling of Tyrosine Tags on Peptides and Proteins". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 142 (11): 5078–5086. doi:10.1021/jacs.9b12002.