Regeneration of a Bioengineered Thyroid Using Decellularized Thyroid Matrix.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Hypothyroidism is a common hormone deficiency condition. Regenerative medicine approaches, such as a bioengineered thyroid, have been proposed as potential therapeutic alternatives for patients with hypothyroidism. This study demonstrates a novel approach to generate thyroid grafts using decellularized rat thyroid matrix.

METHODS:

Isolated rat thyroid glands were perfused with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate to generate a decellularized thyroid scaffold. The rat thyroid scaffold was then recellularized with rat thyroid cell line to reconstruct the thyroid by perfusion seeding technique. As a pilot study, the decellularized rat thyroid scaffold was perfused with human-derived thyrocytes and parathyroid cells.

RESULTS:

The decellularization process retained the intricate three-dimensional microarchitecture with a perfusable vascular network and native extracellular matrix components, allowing efficient reseeding of the thyroid matrix with the FRTL-5 rat thyroid cell line generating three-dimensional follicular structures in vitro. In addition, the recellularized thyroid showed successful cellular engraftment and thyroid-specific function, including synthesis of thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase. Moreover, the decellularized rat thyroid scaffold could further be recellularized with human-derived thyroid cells and parathyroid cells to reconstruct a humanized bioartificial endocrine organ, which maintained expression of critical genes such as thyroglobulin, thyroid peroxidase, and parathyroid hormone.

CONCLUSION:

These findings demonstrate the utility of a decellularized thyroid extracellular matrix scaffold system for the development of functional, bioengineered thyroid tissue, which could potentially be used to treat hypothyroidism.

• Authors: Jun Pan, Hui Li, Yun Fang, Yi-Bin Shen, Xue-Yu Zhou, Feng Zhu, Li-Xian Zhu, Ye-Hui Du, Xiong-Fei Yu, Yan Wang, Xin-Hui Zhou, Ying-Ying Wang, Yi-Jun Wu
• Journal: Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association (Thyroid) Vol. 29 Issue 1 Pg. 142-152 (01 2019) ISSN: 1557-9077 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 30375266 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Topics

• Animals
• Extracellular Matrix
• Hypothyroidism (pathology, therapy)
• Rats
• Regeneration (physiology)
• Thyroid Epithelial Cells (cytology)
• Thyroid Gland (cytology)
• Tissue Engineering