Initiation of Thyroid-Hormone Action

ALTHOUGH the biologic importance of the thyroid gland has been recognized for the past century, the properties of the hormone are still understood in terms of the diverse and apparently unrelated physiologic and biochemical derangements that characterize the hypothyroid and hyperthyroid states. In part, the relatively slow progress in elucidation of the molecular basis of thyroid-hormone action can be attributed to the lack of a well defined set of target tissues and to the lack of a universally recognized model for in vitro study of the biochemistry of the hormone's effects.During the past two years, however, the recognition of . . .