What is the Origin of Wolff-Chaikoff Effect?

Named after the researchers Jan Wolff and Israel L. Chaikoff who first described this autoregulatory mechanism in animal studies in the late 1940s. The effect is a classic example of negative feedback control within the endocrine system.

What is the Mechanism of Wolff-Chaikoff Effect?

The effect is directly mediated by the excess intracellular iodide, which inhibits the activity of the thyroid peroxidase enzyme, a key enzyme essential for oxidizing iodide and incorporating it into the thyroglobulin protein. This temporary inhibition halts the subsequent steps of hormone synthesis until the intracellular iodide concentration falls back below a critical threshold.

Wolff-Chaikoff Effect ∞ Area

Wolff-Chaikoff Effect

Meaning

The Wolff-Chaikoff Effect is a temporary, self-limiting phenomenon in thyroid physiology where a high acute intake of inorganic iodide actively inhibits the synthesis and organification of thyroid hormones within the follicular cells of the thyroid gland. This is an intrinsic autoregulatory mechanism that serves as a physiological defense, preventing the gland from overproducing thyroid hormone in response to a sudden, large load of iodine.

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How Do Dietary Patterns Alter Thyroid Hormone Conversion?

Dietary patterns provide the essential micronutrients and energy signals that directly govern the body's conversion of inactive thyroid hormone to its active form.

∞ Thyroid Hormones
∞ Gut Microbiome
∞ Deiodinase Enzymes

HRTioAugust 3, 2025

Wolff-Chaikoff Effect

Meaning

Origin

Mechanism

How Do Dietary Patterns Alter Thyroid Hormone Conversion?

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