ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the synergistic toxicity between glyphosate and mycotoxins, specifically with respect to the development of euthyroid sick syndrome, also known as non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS). Mycotoxins and glyphosate are both known to cause mitochondrial dysfunction through oxidative stress, DNA damage and depletion of glutathione supplies, especially in the liver. NTIS is a form of hypothyroidism that is not associated with impaired thyroid function. Instead, the enzyme deiodinase 3 (DIO3) is sharply upregulated in the liver, and this leads to the overproduction of reverse T3 (rT3). rT3 not only does not activate the thyroid hormone receptors but actually acts to block the receptor response to T3, leading to symptoms of extreme fatigue due to a suppression of mitochondrial activity. Here, we develop an argument that glutathione deficiency plays a central role in the disease process and that this also relates to impaired sulfur homeostasis and deficiencies in heparan sulfate proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix of the liver. A stiff basement membrane leads to a pathology called frustrated clathrin-based endocytosis, which results in excessive activity of DIO3 and resulting overproduction of rT3.
