3,5-T2 induce Axolotl metamorphosis

Thyroid hormones (TH) regulate tissue remodeling processes during early- and post-embryonic stages in vertebrates. The Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a neotenic species that has lost the ability to undergo spontaneous metamorphosis, a life cycle transition critically controlled by TH. However, it can be artificially induced by exogenous administration of thyroxine (T4) and 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3). Here, we ask whether 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (3,5-T2), another less well known TH derivative, can also induce metamorphosis and what the specific transcriptional responses.