title: Regeneration of thyroid follicles from primordial cells in a murine thyroidectomized model.
abstract: The functional unit of the thyroid gland, the thyroid follicle, dynamically responds to various stimuli to maintain thyroid hormone homeostasis. However, thyroid follicles in the adult human thyroid gland have a very limited regenerative capacity following partial resection of the thyroid gland. To gain insight into follicle regeneration in the adult thyroid gland, we observed the regeneration processes of murine thyroid follicles after partial resection of the lower third of the thyroid gland in 10-week-old male C57BL/6 mice. Based on sequential observation of the partially resected thyroid lobe, we found primitive follicles forming in the area corresponding to the central zone of the intact lateral thyroid lobe. The primitive thyroid follicles were multiciliated and had coarsely vacuolated cytoplasm and large vesicular nuclei. Consistently, these primitive follicular cells did not express the differentiation markers paired box gene-8 and thyroid transcription factor-1 (clone SPT24), but were positive for forkhead box protein A2 and leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 4/GPR48. Follicles newly generated from the primitive follicles had clear or vacuolar cytoplasm with dense, darkly stained nuclei. At day 21 after partial thyroidectomy, the tall cuboidal follicular epithelial cells had clear or vacuolar cytoplasm, and the intraluminal colloid displayed pale staining. Smaller activated follicles were found in the central zone of the lateral lobe, whereas larger mature follicles were located in the peripheral zone. Based on these observations, we propose that the follicle regeneration process in the partially resected adult murine thyroid gland associated with the appearance of primitive follicular cells may be a platform for the budding of differentiated follicles in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Daejeon St Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Junguee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Shinae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joon Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yea Eun
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Institute, Daejeon St Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Institute, Daejeon St Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ki Cheol
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Institute, Daejeon St Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Keum-Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Daejeon St Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Joung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Sul
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Daejeon St Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Ok
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyon-Seung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Gene Regulation Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institut, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Xuguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Gene Regulation Section, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institut, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Sheue-Yann
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Minho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002923:Cilia / Q000502:physiology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008954:Models, Biological; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism; D012038:Regeneration; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D013965:Thyroidectomy; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: C496503:Foxa2 protein, mouse; C496200:LGR4 protein, mouse; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta