Morphological features of the prostate gland under conditions of iodine deficiency and iodine deficiency combined with the goitrogenic substances during postnatal ontogenesis

  • Received 19.02.2026

  • Revised 06.04.2026

  • Accepted 01.05.2026

  • Published 29.05.2026


  • 0 View

  • Retrieved from Volume 8, No. 2, 2026

  • Pages 44-50

According to data from the World Health Organization, pathological conditions caused by iodine deficiency rank third place of the most common non-infectious human diseases. The aim of the study was to determine the morphofunctional changes in the prostate gland over time at 60 and 90 days of iodine deficiency combined with the consumption of goitrogenic substances during postnatal ontogenesis. The experiment was conducted on 78 white inbred male rats of both prepubertal and pubertal ages. Eleven animals from each age group constituted Group 1 (control), while 14 animals were included in experimental groups 2 and 3 with simulated iodine deficiency. Experimental Groups 4 and 5 experimental groups consisted of animals from both age groups in which combined iodine deficiency with goitrogen consumption was simulated. Material for light and electron microscopy were collected on days 60 and 90 of the experiment. From a morphological view, the structural changes observed in the prostate gland involve several levels. First, due to reduced thyroid stimulation, changes in the metabolic activity of the epithelial cells of the gland’s acini and ducts were noted. Second, endocrine imbalance altered the ratio of epithelial to stromal components. Third, since the prostate gland is sensitive to the interaction of androgens, estrogens, thyroid hormones, and pro inflammatory mediators, the combined effect of iodine deficiency and goitrogenic agents manifested as inflammatory and dystrophic changes, specifically alterations in epithelial cell height, acinar lumen width, the stroma-to-parenchyma ratio, the presence of edema, and cellular infiltration. Thus, iodine deficiency and goitrogenic agents can alter thyroid homeostasis, and the thyroid axis is associated with the function and pathological conditions of the prostate gland. Thus, tth key components of thyroid signaling are detected in the prostate gland, indicating a possible direct effect of thyroid hormones on this organ. Edematous changes in the epithelium of the terminal secretory units result from ischemia caused by edematous processes in the walls of blood vessels and connective tissue elements of the prostate.

laboratory animals; experiment; prostate; morphology; morphometry; age; ontogenesis

https://doi.org/10.11603/bmbr.2706-6290.2026.2.16371
  1. World Health Organization. Iodine Deficiency. Available from: https://www.who.int/data/nutrition/nlis/info/iodine-deficiency (accessed on 9 January 2022).
  2. Businge, Charles Bitamazire, Benjamin Longo-Mbenza, and Andre Pascal Kengne. "Iodine nutrition status in Africa: potentially high prevalence of iodine deficiency in pregnancy even in countries classified as iodine sufficient." Public Health Nutrition 24.12 (2021);3581-86.
  3. Global fortification data exchange (GFDx), 2021. Global Burden of Disease Child and Adolescent Health Collaboration. Available from: http://www.fortificationdata.org (accessed on 11 Feb 2021).
  4. Kassebaum N, Kyu HH Child and Adolescent Health From 1990 to 2015: Findings From the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 Study. JAMA Pediatr. 2017 Jun 1;171(6):602. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.0250.
  5. Asín J, Ramírez GA, Navarro MA, Nyaoke AC, Henderson EE, Mendonça FS, et al. Nutritional wasting disorders in sheep. Animals (Basel). 2021;11(2):501. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020501.
  6. Niwattisaiwong S, Burman KD, Li-Ng M. Iodine deficiency: clinical implications. Cleve Clin J Med. 2017;84(3):236-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.84a.15053.
  7. Ranhulova T. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hypothyroidism: review of clinical and experimental studies. Galician Medical Journal. 2021;28(4):E202142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21802/gmj.2021.4.2.
  8. Antonenko AM, Korshun MM. Faktory navkolyshn'oho seredovyshcha yak chynnyky ryzyku patolohiyi shchytopodibnoyi zalozy (pershe povidomlennya) [Environmental factors as risk factors for thyroid pathology (first report)]. Dovkillya ta zdorov'ya. 2016;3:77-9. Ukrainian.
  9. Rudenko SS, Dmytruk YUM. Selen u gruntakh Bukovyny [Selenium in the soils of Bukovina. Bulletin of Agricultural Science]. Visnyk ahrarnoyi nauky. Naukovi zapysky. 1999;7:50-4. Ukrainian.
  10. Sorokman T, Bachu M, Sokolhyk I. Frequency of iodine deficiency disorders among children living in the iodine deficiency region. Romanian journal of pediatrics. RJP. 2021; Vol. LXX (1):44-52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37897/RJP.2021.1.9.
  11. Zavada MI. Otsinka stanu zdorov'ya ditey ta pidlitkiv L'vivs'koyi oblasti [Assessment of the health status of children and adolescents in Lviv region]. Environment&Health. 2016; 2:59-62. Ukrainian.
  12. Anguiano B, Montes de Oca C, Delgado-González E, Aceves C. Prostate gland as a target organ of thyroid hormones: advances and controversies. Endocr Connect. 2022;11(2):e210581. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1530/EC-21-0581.
  13. Huang Y, Chen C, Zhou W, Zhang Q, Zhao Y, He D, et al. Genetically predicted alterations in thyroid function are associated with the risk of benign prostatic disease. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023;14:1163586. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1163586.
  14. Popadynets' OH, Sahan OV, Barchuk RR, Voyans'kyy RS, Ananevych IM, Sahan NT ta in. Sposib modelyuvannya yododefitsytnykh staniv z dodavannyam zobohennykh produktiv [Method for modeling iodine-deficient conditions with the addition of goitrogenic products]. Patent Ukrayiny. 2016;111647. Ukrainian.
  15. Bahriy MM, Dibrova VA, Popadynets' OH, Hryshchuk MI. Metody morfolohichnoho doslidzhennya: Monohrafiya [Methods of morphological research: A monograph]. Vinnytsya. Nova Knyha. 2016;328. Ukrainian.
  16. Hatch-McChesney A, Lieberman HR. Iodine and iodine deficiency: a comprehensive review of a re-emerging issue. Nutrients. 2022;14(17):3474. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14173474.
  17. Felker P, Bunch R, Leung AM. Concentrations of thiocyanate and goitrin in human plasma, their precursor concentrations in brassica vegetables, and associated potential risk for hypothyroidism. Nutr Rev. 2016;74(4):248-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuv110.
  18. Hlozhyk IZ. Biokhimichni markery vil'noradykal'noho okyslennya ta lipidnoho obminu u shchuriv z ozhyrinnyam, yododefitsytom ta ozhyrinnyam u poyednanni z yododefitsytom [Biochemical markers of free radical oxidation and lipid exchange in rats with obesity, iodine deficiency and obesity in combination with iodine deficiency]. Ukrayins'kyy zhurnal medytsyny, biolohiyi ta sportu. 2021;6(4):166-71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26693/jmbs06.04.166. Ukrainian.
  19. Jung KY, Ahn HY, Han SK, Park YJ, Cho BY, Moon MK. Association between thyroid function and lipid profiles, apolipoproteins, and high-density lipoprotein function. J Clin Lipidol. 2017;11(6):1347-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacl.2017.08.015.
  20. Kukharchuk KhM. Klinichni ta epidemiolohichni osoblyvosti subklinichnoho hipotyreozu u molodykh lyudey [Clinical and epidemiological features of a subclinical hypothyroidism in young people]. Zdorov'ya suspil'stva. 2019;8(3):106-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22141/2306-2436.8.3.2019.192174. Ukrainian.
  21. Pan'kiv VI, Yuzvenko TYu. Zv'yazok subklinichnoyi dysfunktsiyi shchytopodibnoyi zalozy ta metabolichnoho syndrome [Relationships of subclinical thyroid dysfunction and metabolic syndrome]. Klinichna endokrynolohiya ta khirurhiya (Ukrayina). 2017;2(58):39-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24026/1818-1384.2(58).2017.105577. Ukrainian.
  22. Anguiano B, Álvarez L, Delgado-González E, Ortiz-Martínez Z, Montes de Oca C, Morales G, et al. Protective effects of iodine on rat prostate inflammation induced by sex hormones and on the DU145 prostate cancer cell line treated with TNF. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2023;572:111957. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2023.111957.
  23. Pehrsson PR, Roseland JM, Patterson KY, Phillips KM, Spungen JH, Andrews KW, et al. Iodine in foods and dietary supplements: A collaborative database developed by NIH, FDA and USDA. J Food Compost Anal. 2022;109:104369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2021.104369.
  24. Montes de Oca C, Álvarez L, Aceves C, Anguiano B. Molecular iodine induces anti- and pro-neoplastic effects in prostate cancer models. Int J Mol Sci. 2025;26(16):7800. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167800.
  25. Ryabukha O, Greguš M. Correlation analysis as a thyroid gland, adrenal glands, and liver relationship tool for correcting hypothyroidism with organic and inorganic iodine. Procedia Comput Sci. 2019;160:598-603. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.11.041.
  26. Skrypnyk NV. Metabolichnyy syndrom ta hipotyreoz: patohenetychni vzayemozv'yazky, diahnostyka ta likuvannya [Metabolic syndrome and hypothyroidism: pathogenetic interrelations, diagnosis, and treatment]. Diabetolohiya, tyreoyidolohiya, metabolichni rozlady. 2017;1(37):60-3. Ukrainian.