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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 14, 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-Related Protein Expression in the Human Thymus.

Mi Jeong Kim¹, So Won Oh², Hyewon Youn³

¹Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Tumor Microenvironment Global Core Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

International Journal of Endocrinology

|April 8, 2017

Summary

Radioiodine whole body scans detect thyroid cancer recurrence. Researchers found sodium iodide symporter (NIS) and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) are expressed in normal thymus tissue, not just cancer.

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Area of Science:

Endocrinology
Oncology
Immunology

Background:

Radioiodine whole body scans (WBS) are crucial for detecting thyroid cancer recurrence and metastasis.
Physiological radioiodine uptake in the thymus, particularly in younger patients, can complicate WBS interpretation.
The underlying mechanisms for thymic radioiodine uptake are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the expression of key thyroid-related genes and proteins in normal human thymus tissue.
To determine if increased thymic radioiodine uptake in young patients is associated with elevated expression of these thyroid-related molecules.

Main Methods:

Human thymic tissues were collected from 22 thyroid cancer patients across various age groups.
Immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) were employed to assess the expression of sodium iodide symporter (NIS), thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR), thyroperoxidase (TPO), and thyroglobulin (Tg).

Main Results:

NIS and TSHR were expressed in a high percentage of thymic samples (81.8% and 86.4%, respectively).
TPO expression was less frequent (22.7%), and thyroglobulin (Tg) was rarely detected (4.5%).
Thyroid-related protein expression was not significantly higher in younger thymic tissues compared to older tissues.

Conclusions:

The majority of normal thymus samples express NIS and TSHR, explaining potential radioiodine uptake.
The observed thymic radioiodine uptake in young patients is not attributable to increased NIS expression.
These findings clarify the basis for thymic uptake in WBS and aid in accurate thyroid cancer staging.