Characterization of a human thyroid microtissue model for testing thyroid disrupting chemicals.

Perturbation of thyroid hormone (T) synthesis is known to cause numerous developmental, metabolic, and cognitive disorders in humans. Due to species differences in sensitivity to chemical exposures, there is a need for human-based approaches that recapitulate thyroid cellular architecture and T production when screening. To address these limitations, primary human thyrocytes, isolated from healthy adult donor tissues and cryopreserved at passage one (p'1) were characterized for cellular composition, 3D follicular architecture, and thyroglobulin (TG)/T expression and inhibition by prototype thyroid disrupting chemicals (TDC).