AUTHOR=Arauchi Ayumi , Matsuura Katsuhisa , Shimizu Tatsuya , Okano Teruo 

TITLE=Functional Thyroid Follicular Cells Differentiation from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Suspension Culture

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2017.00103

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2017.00103

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>The replacement of regenerated thyroid follicular cells (TFCs) is a promising therapeutic strategy for patients with hypothyroidism. Here, we have succeeded in inducing functional TFCs from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in scalable suspension culture. Differentiation of iPSCs with Activin A treatment produced Sox17- and FoxA2-expressing definitive endodermal cells that also expressed thyroid transcription factors Pax8 and Nkx2-1. Further treatment with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) induced TFCs expressing various types of thyroid proteins including TSH receptor, sodium–iodide symporter, thyroglobulin, and thyroid peroxidase. Interestingly, differentiated cells secreted free thyroxine <italic>in vitro</italic>. These results indicate successful differentiation of human iPSCs to functional TFCs that may enable us to fabricate thyroid tissues for regenerative medicine and disease models.</p>