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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

An Ex vivo Culture System to Study Thyroid Development

An Ex vivo Culture System to Study Thyroid Development

Published on: June 6, 2014

[Thyroid Phylogeny: from seaweeds to man].

A Di Fiore¹, A Nesca, M D'Armiento

¹Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

La Clinica Terapeutica

|May 5, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Iodine uptake is an ancient process. The evolution of the thyroid gland in vertebrates likely originated from the endostyle structure found in primitive chordates, as supported by molecular genetics.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Endocrinology
Molecular genetics

Context:

Iodine uptake and the synthesis of iodine-containing amino acids are ancient biological processes, first observed in seaweeds.
Invertebrates like Gorgonians and Tunicates exhibit monoiodotyrosines, precursors to thyroxine.
The thyroid gland's evolutionary origins are traced through structures like the endostyle in protochordates.

Purpose:

To investigate the evolutionary origins of the thyroid gland.
To explore the link between the endostyle and the vertebrate thyroid.
To confirm the role of Thyroid Transcription Factor-1 (TTF-1) in thyroid evolution.

Summary:

The endostyle, a pharyngeal invagination in protochordates (Tunicates, Amphioxus) and larval lampreys, concentrates iodine and shares functional similarities with the thyroid gland.
The transformation of endostyle cells into thyroid follicles during lamprey metamorphosis highlights a crucial evolutionary step.
Molecular studies reveal TTF-1 expression in the endostyle of various species, supporting its role as an ancestral thyroid regulator.

Impact:

Establishes cyclostomes as a transitional group linking protochordate endostyles to higher chordate thyroid glands.
Provides molecular evidence for the conserved role of TTF-1 in thyroid development and function across vertebrates.
Enhances understanding of the evolutionary history of endocrine systems and iodine metabolism.