Advances in Thyroid Organoids Research and Applications

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Organoids are three-dimensional cellular aggregates derived from stem cells or primary tissues that can self-organize into organotypic structures and showcase the physiological functions of that organ. Organoids typically comprise multiple organ-specific cell types that are responsible for organ function in vivo. They may also incorporate various cellular and molecular stromal components to recapitulate the in vivo microenvironment of the target organ.

Methods

All articles related to thyroid-like organs were synthesized. Articles published between 1959 and 2023 were assessed, categorized, and analyzed using relevant keywords.

Results

As such, organoids provide a model of greater physiological relevance than 2D cell culture for basic and translational research. Murine and human organoids of the thyroid have been established from embryonic stem cells (ESCs), pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and from various healthy or diseased thyroid tissues. These thyroid organoids have been used in basic and translation research on thyroid-related diseases including hyperthyroidism, Graves’ disease, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. In addition, organoids derived from patients with thyroid cancer retain histopathological features and mutational profile of the original tumor. These patient-derived organoids have been successfully used in in vitro evaluation of drug response of individual patients, demonstrating their potential application in personalized treatment of thyroid cancer.

Conclusion

In this review article, we have discussed various techniques for establishing thyroid organoids and their applications in thyroid-related diseases as disease models, regenerative medicines, or a tool for drug testing.

KEYWORDS:

• Disease modeling
• organoids
• personalized medicine
• regenerative medicine
• stem cells
• thyroid

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (Major Science and Technology Innovation Project), 2022CXPT023, National Natural Science Foundation of China (81700695), Taishan Scholars Project (ts20190991), China Scholarship Council (201909370036).