Thyroid hormone regulates Na+-Ca2+ exchanger expression during postnatal maturation and in adult rabbit ventricular myocardium

Abstract

Thyroid hormone reciprocally regulates NCX and SERCA2a expression in the ventricles of adult rabbits. Hypothyroidism resulted in sustained high levels of NCX expression in 21-day-old rabbits. These results suggest that the postnatal thyroid hormone surge is important for the normal down-regulation of cardiac NCX expression during the first 3 weeks after birth in developing rabbits.