Evidence of the Presence of Thyroid Hormones in Achatina fulica Snails

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to identify thyroid hormones and to examine their putative site of synthesis in Achatina fulica snails. For this purpose, radioimmunoassays were performed for T3 and T4 before and after long starvation with or without hemolymph deproteinization. Sodium/iodide symporter activity in vivo was analyzed through 125I administration with and without KClO4 pretreatment. Only T4 was detected, and its concentration decreased due to starvation or deproteinization. However, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis also showed the presence of T2 and T3 apart ...