Effect of chronic metabolic acidosis on thyroid hormone homeostasis in humans

The effects of metabolic acidosis on thyroid function are unknown. We investigated the effects of chronic extrarenal acidosis on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Chronic metabolic acidosis was induced by administering NH4Cl (4.2 mmol.kg body wt(-1).day(-1)) to six normal male volunteers during metabolic balance conditions. Plasma bicarbonate concentration decreased from 25.0 +/- 0.4 to 15.5. +/- 0.9 mmol/l (P < 0.001). Metabolic acidosis significantly decreased serum-free 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T-3) concentrations from 373 +/- 18 (control) to 251 +/- 13 pg/dl (P < 0.001) and decreased serum-free L-thyroxine (T-4) from 1.55 +/- 0.42 to 1.25 +/- 0.37 ng/dl (P < 0.002), whereas serum total reverse T-3 did not change significantly. Consequently, the reverse T-3-to-free T-4 ratio increased. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels increased significantly from 0.70 +/- 0.07 during control to 1.30 +/- 0.12 mU/l during acidosis (P < 0.003). The TSH response to thyrotropin (TRH, 2 mg intranasally) was exaggerated in acidosis: the partial area under the concentration curve for the TSH response (210 min post-TRH) was 902 +/- 167 during control compared with 1,394 +/- 209 mU.min.l(-1) during acidosis (P = 0.0139). Chronic metabolic acidosis, as produced by the model employed here, induces a decrease in thyroid hormone secretion and might exert additional effects on thyroid hormone metabolism in humans. The acidosis-induced decrease in thyroid function might modulate some of the reported effects of metabolic acidosis, such as on nitrogen balance, protein synthesis, lean body mass, insulin-like growth factor I levels, renal acidification, and cardiac contractile function.