Dimethylsulfoxide maintains human thyroid cells in suspension culture, facilitating synthesis and release of thyroid hormone.
Usually, human thyrocytes in primary culture rapidly lose their thyroid function and fail to synthesize or release thyroid hormone after 3-5 days of culture. By culturing thyroid follicles obtained from patients with Graves' disease in medium supplemented with TSH and a low concentration of fetal calf serum (1%), thyrocytes can maintain thyroid function for several days. We have found that the addition of dimethylsulfoxide to culture medium (1.7%) furthermore enhanced and maintained thyroid function (de novo synthesis and release of [125I] thyroxine) for more than 13 days, probably by inhibiting dedifferentiation of thyrocytes. The present bioassay will be also useful for detecting thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin in patients with Graves' disease.
Department of Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical College, Japan.
K
K
Sato
D C
DC
Han
M
M
Ozawa
Y
Y
Fujii
T
T
Tsushima
K
K
Shizume
D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D013535:Suspensions; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013997:Time Factors
D003470:Culture Media; D013535:Suspensions; D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D013972:Thyrotropin; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide