Hydrolysis of iodothyronine sulfates by sulfatase activity of anaerobic bacteria from the rat intestinal flora

Abstract 2 Obligately anaerobic bacteria isolated from rat cecal flora have previously been shown to possess sulfatase activity towards 3,3'-diiodothyronine sulfate 5]. These strains have now been tested for their ability to hydrolyze the sulfate conjugates of other iodothyronines, including the thyroid hormones thyroxine and 3,3',5-triiodothyronine. In anaerobic incubations at 37°C with approximately 10⁷ bacteria per ml, variable amounts of the conjugated substrates, ranging from 15–90%, were hydrolysed in 24 h. These results showed a potent iodothyronine sulfate hydrolysing capacity of rat intestinal microflora. The strains were characterized by carbohydrate fermentation tests. One strain belonged to the genus Lactobacillus , the other strain probably to Eubacterium or Lachnospira .