title: Parafollicular C-cells of the thyroid are decreased in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parathyroid and thymic anomalies related to embryonic neural crest dysfunction have been demonstrated in rats with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). These rats, like infants with CDH, have conotruncal, facial, and other neurocristal defects. The present study examines whether parafollicular C-cells (CC) of the thyroid, whose embryogenesis is related to that of the parathyroids and thymus, might also be abnormal in babies with CDH.
  
  
  METHODS
  Autopsy sections of the thyroids of 12 babies dead from CDH and of 11 controls were stained with anti-calcitonin antibodies. Calcitonin-stained areas and the histological distribution of CC within the thyroid gland were assessed. Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison, with p<0.05 considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of stained surface to total thyroid surface was significantly smaller in CDH babies than in controls (0.035±0.030% vs. 0.072±0.052%, p<0.05). A normal central CC location was demonstrated in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parafollicular thyroid C-cells are deficient in patients with CDH. These findings further support the involvement of neural crest dysregulation in the pathogenesis of CDH and the pertinence of using this experimental model to investigate the human condition. The clinical effects of this anomaly are unknown and probably irrelevant, but they are currently under scrutiny.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Infantil La Paz, Pediatric Surgery, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Luis
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pederiva
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Encinas
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tovar
mesh_terms: D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000473:pathology*; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*