Thyroid hormone signalling in human evolution and disease: A novel hypothesis

Abstract

Thyroid hormone (TH) signalling is a universally conserved pathway with pleiotropic actions that is able to control the development, metabolism, and homeostasis of organisms. Using evidence from paleoecology/palaeoanthropology and data from the physiology of modern humans, we try to assess the natural history of TH signalling and its role in human evolution. Our net thesis is that TH signalling has likely played a critical role in human evolution by facilitating the adaptive responses of early hominids to unprecedently challenging and continuously changing environments. These ancient roles have been conserved in modern humans, in whom TH signalling still responds to and regulates adaptations to present-day environmental and pathophysiological stresses, thus making it a promising therapeutic target.