How thyroid function influences cellular respiration rate.
1. Describe the cellular mechanism by which thyroid function influences cellular respiration rate. What happens
in a respiring cell when hypothyroid conditions occur? What about hyperthyroid conditions? How do the authors
intend to improve understanding of thyroid hormones and their effect on cellular respiration?
2. Without becoming mired in the mathematics involved, discuss the methodological approaches employed by
the authors. How did they estimate respiration rate in hepatocytes? (What’s a hepatocyte?) How did they
estimate ATP content? What did the authors use radioactive isotopes for in the study? What did they use
electron microscopy for?
3. The authors use the arcane notation ‘ΔΨm’ to refer to mitochondrial membrane potential, which is displayed
on the y-axis of nearly every graph presented. Briefly summarize the authors’ findings with regard to
mitochondrial membrane potential in rats of varying thyroid function. How do the differences translate to other
aspects of respiratory function at the cellular level?
4. A goal of this course is to improve your technical literacy in biology. Indicate how information presented in
class (via lecture, lab, or textbook) contributed to your comprehension of the assigned article.
