Lead exposure is known to affect the pituitary-thyroid axis. Likewise, ascorbic acid (AA) has a protective action against lead poisoning. We examine the protective role of AA in lead-induced damage to the thyroid gland. The Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control that received 0.2% AA in drinking water throughout the experiment (15 days), intoxicated with lead acetate (20 mg/kg) intraperitoneally every 48 h for 15 days, and the experimental group treated with lead acetate and 0.2% AA in drinking water throughout the experiment. Plasma thyroid-stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine, thyroxine, and lead were determined. The thyroid gland was weighed, then epithelial cell height and nuclear volume were measured on histological slides. The results show that AA reduced the thyroid atrophy caused by lead acetate, as well as the loss of weight of the gland. In addition, it prevented the decrease of the hormone triiodothyronine, although the thyroxine hormone remained lower than the control values ​​and the thyroid-stimulating hormone remains high. Our results indicated that AA could play a protective role in lead poisoning in the thyroid gland.

中文翻译：

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抗坏血酸对铅致大鼠甲状腺损伤的保护作用

已知铅暴露会影响垂体-甲状腺轴。同样，抗坏血酸 (AA) 具有防止铅中毒的保护作用。我们研究了 AA 在铅引起的甲状腺损伤中的保护作用。Wistar大鼠分为3组：对照组在整个实验过程中（15天）在饮用水中接受0.2％AA，每48小时腹腔注射醋酸铅（20mg / kg），持续15天，实验组用在整个实验过程中，饮用水中含有醋酸铅和 0.2% AA。测定血浆促甲状腺激素、三碘甲状腺原氨酸、甲状腺素和铅。称重甲状腺，然后在组织切片上测量上皮细胞高度和核体积。结果表明AA减少了醋​​酸铅引起的甲状腺萎缩，以及腺体的重量减轻。此外，它阻止了激素三碘甲状腺原氨酸的减少，尽管甲状腺素激素仍然低于对照值，促甲状腺激素仍然很高。我们的研究结果表明，AA 可以在甲状腺铅中毒中发挥保护作用。