A new organotypic culture of thyroid tissue maintains three-dimensional follicles with C cells for a long term.
Thyroid follicles embedded in extracellular matrix (ECM) seem to be supplied enough oxygen by a dense network of capillaries in vivo. Air exposure (AE) causes cells to increase oxygen availability in vitro. We speculated that three-dimensional (3D) environment of ECM together with AE may be applied to a thyroid tissue-organotypic culture, simply simulating such a microenvironment of follicles. To address the issue, we performed 3D collagen gel culture of minced thyroid tissues with or without AE. Most follicles in the tissues without AE died within 7 days. In culture with AE, most of the follicles with calcitonin-positive C cells were kept for over one month. Immunohistochemistry showed that thyrocytes displayed thyroglobulin, thyrotropin receptor, thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), and pendrin, which are all crucial for thyroid function. C cells expressed calcitonin gene-related peptide and TTF-1. Our study is the first demonstration that 3D collagen gel culture with AE retains 3D thyroid follicles with C cells for a long term. This suggests that ECM and oxygen supply together may be crucial for maintenance of 3D follicle structure and function. Our method will possibly open a new path to the study of thyrocyte-C cell interaction and thyroid biology.
Toda
Shuji
S
Department of Pathology, Saga Medical School, Nabeshima 5-1-1, Japan. todas@post.saga-med.ac.jp
Watanabe
Keiko
K
Yokoi
Fumiaki
F
Matsumura
Sueo
S
Suzuki
Koichi
K
Ootani
Akifumi
A
Aoki
Shigehisa
S
Koike
Norimasa
N
Sugihara
Hajime
H
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*
D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D003094:Collagen; D010100:Oxygen