FIG. 5.

A) Pregnant dams were fed control chow or chow supplemented with thyroid powder beginning at Embryonic Day 16.5. Dams and pups were fed their respective diets until the pups reached 6 wk of age. Real-time RT-PCR was used to determine the relative expression levels of Tshb (B), Fshb (C), and Lhb (D) in pituitary gland tissue of Foxp3^sf/Y mice on thyroid versus control chow diets. Thyroid hormone replacement significantly reduced expression of Tshb in Foxp3^sf/Y mice (0.02) compared with Foxp3^sf/Y mice fed control chow (3.57 ± 0.70), but it had no effect on expression of Fshb (0.15 ± 0.08) or Lhb (0.05 ± 0.03) compared with Foxp3^sf/Y mice fed control diet (0.10 ± 0.08 and 0.11 ± 0.07, respectively). Expression level was calculated by the 2^−ΔΔCT method and represents expression relative to the average ΔC_T of samples from Foxp3^+/Y mice fed control diet. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of four animals per group. The data were analyzed by Student t-test to determine significant difference between control and thyroid chow diets (**P < 0.01).