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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Thyroid morphology and functional alterations in male and female rats with diet-induced visceral obesity

Tatyana A. Mityukova1* ,  Anastasia A. Basalai1* ,  Tatyana E. Kuznetsova1 ,  Olga Y. Poluliakh1 ,  Mikita S. Kastsiuchenka1
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1 Department of Laboratory of Biomedical Technologies and Medical Rehabilitation, Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Republic of Belarus
Global Translational Medicine, 025080020 https://doi.org/10.36922/GTM025080020
Submitted: 22 February 2025 | Revised: 28 March 2025 | Accepted: 1 April 2025 | Published: 16 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

With obesity reaching epidemic proportions worldwide, its impact on thyroid function is gaining increasing attention. Epidemiological studies show an association between obesity, hypothyroidism, and circulating thyroid antibodies but experimental research is needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying these associations. This study aimed to investigate thyroid function indicators in male and female rats subjected to a high-calorie diet for 16 weeks. We assessed mass-metric indices, blood biochemical markers, thyroid morphometry, and tissue concentrations of triglycerides, malonic dialdehyde (MDA), and thyroperoxidase (TPO) activity. The results revealed biochemical features of metabolic syndrome, including elevated thyroxine (T4) levels in peripheral blood. Morphological analysis indicated steatosis and thyroid hypofunction, with increased triglyceride accumulation, decreased TPO activity, and lower MDA levels in the thyroid tissue. These findings suggest that visceral obesity in male and female rats promotes early signs of thyroid dysfunction, potentially leading to hypothyroidism.

Keywords
High-calorie diet
Visceral obesity
Rats
Thyroid function
Thyroid hormones
Morphological changes
Funding
This work was supported by the State Program for Scientific Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (No.: 4.1.1.5).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Global Translational Medicine, Electronic ISSN: 2811-0021 Print ISSN: 3060-8600, Published by AccScience Publishing
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