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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1481295
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Biotechnological Approaches for Reproductive Tissue Engineering View all 7 articles

Development and Characterization of a Novel Injectable Thyroid Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel for Enhanced Thyroid Tissue Engineering Applications

Provisionally accepted
Liang Zhang Liang Zhang 1,2Houlong Long Houlong Long 1,2*Peng Zhang Peng Zhang 1,2*Bin Liu Bin Liu 1,2*Shuheng Li Shuheng Li 1,2*Rong Sun Rong Sun 1,2*Tongmei Diao Tongmei Diao 1,2*Feng Li Feng Li 1,2*
  • 1 Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
  • 2 Tengzhou City Center People's Hospital, Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Hypothyroidism, a condition characterized by decreased synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones, significantly impacts intellectual development and physical growth. Current treatments, including hormone replacement therapy and thyroid transplantation, have limitations due to issues like hormone dosage control and immune rejection. Tissue engineering presents a potential solution by combining cells and biomaterials to construct engineered thyroid tissue. This study focuses on the development and characterization of a novel 3D injectable hydrogel derived from thyroid extracellular matrix (TEM) for thyroid tissue engineering. TEM hydrogels were prepared through decellularization of rat thyroid tissue, followed by extensive physicochemical and mechanical property evaluations. The TEM hydrogels exhibited properties similar to natural thyroid tissue, including high biocompatibility and a complex 3D ultrastructure. Thyroid hormone-secreting cells cultured in TEM hydrogels demonstrated superior viability, hormone secretion, and thyroid-related gene expression compared to those in traditional type I collagen hydrogels. The study also confirmed the significant retention of key growth factors and ECM proteins within the TEM hydrogels. The results indicate that TEM hydrogels can provide a biomimetic microenvironment, promoting the long-term survival and function of thyroid cells, thus holding great promise for the treatment of hypothyroidism. This research contributes a potential new avenue for thyroid tissue engineering, offering a promising alternative for hypothyroidism treatment.

    Keywords: Hypothyroidism, thyroid extracellular matrix, Injectable hydrogel, Cell viability, thyroid hormone secretion, thyroid tissue engineering

    Received: 15 Aug 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Long, Zhang, Liu, Li, Sun, Diao and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Houlong Long, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
    Peng Zhang, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
    Bin Liu, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
    Shuheng Li, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
    Rong Sun, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
    Tongmei Diao, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China
    Feng Li, Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Tengzhou Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University, Tengzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.