AUTHOR=Ran Qingsong , Zhou Qiliang , Oda Kanako , Yasue Akihiro , Abe Manabu , Ye Xulu , Li Yingchun , Sasaoka Toshikuni , Sakimura Kenji , Ajioka Yoichi , Saijo Yasuo 

TITLE=Generation of Thyroid Tissues From Embryonic Stem Cells via Blastocyst Complementation In Vivo

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.609697

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2020.609697

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>The generation of mature, functional, thyroid follicular cells from pluripotent stem cells would potentially provide a therapeutic benefit for patients with hypothyroidism, but <italic>in vitro</italic> differentiation remains difficult. We earlier reported the <italic>in vivo</italic> generation of lung organs <italic>via</italic> blastocyst complementation in fibroblast growth factor 10 (<italic>Fgf10</italic>), compound, heterozygous mutant (<italic>Fgf10</italic> Ex1<sup>mut</sup>/Ex3<sup>mut</sup>) mice. Fgf10 also plays an essential role in thyroid development and branching morphogenesis, but any role thereof in thyroid organogenesis remains unclear. Here, we report that the thyroids of <italic>Fgf10</italic> Ex1<sup>mut</sup>/Ex3<sup>mut</sup> mice exhibit severe hypoplasia, and we generate thyroid tissues from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in <italic>Fgf10</italic> Ex1<sup>mut</sup>/Ex3<sup>mut</sup> mice <italic>via</italic> blastocyst complementation. The tissues were morphologically normal and physiologically functional. The thyroid follicular cells of <italic>Fgf10</italic> Ex1<sup>mut</sup>/Ex3<sup>mut</sup> chimeric mice were derived largely from GFP-positive mouse ESCs although the recipient cells were mixed. Thyroid generation <italic>in vivo via</italic> blastocyst complementation will aid functional thyroid regeneration.</p>