The use of organ culture to study 131I uptake and metabolism of thyroid tissue

Observations on cells in tissue culture confirmed that isolated thyroid cells are unable to concentrate I¹³¹ or to form thyroid hormones when the cells are proliferating rapidly. This loss of specialization may possibly be linked to the rapid decline in the activity of two respiratory enzymes in roller cultures of freshly explanted cells. Alternatively, the ability of thyroid tissue to complete the process of iodination and produce active hormone may depend upon the presence of intact follicles containing colloid. The protein binding of I¹³¹ established with organ cultures of thyroid, and the experiments of Wollman and Wodinsky and Nadler on whole thyroid gland, support this assumption. In assessing the response of normal or pathological tissue to hormones it is clearly important to employ an organ culture technique in which the integrity of the tissue and cells can be maintained over a period of days. (auth)