Three-dimensional studies of cytoskeletal organizations in cultured thyroid cells by quick-freezing and deep-etching method.

Isolated porcine thyroid cells were cultured on collagen gels (control group, TSH-stimulated group, and double-layered culture). They were split or cut to remove cytoplasmic soluble proteins for replica preparations. Some specimens were immunostained with anti-actin antibody or decorated with S1 myosin fragments to identify actin filaments. The basal cell membranes of thyroid cells of monolayer culture were in contact with collagen gels and the apical cell membranes faced the culture medium. Networks of actin filaments were attached to the cytoplasmic sides of the apical cell membranes, while intermediate filaments were localized along the basal ones. The thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) treatment induced the formation of microvilli only on the apical cell membranes and the accumulation of actin filaments under the apical cell membranes, indicating the apical-basal polarity of the cells. In double-layered culture, the primitive follicular lumens with microvilli appeared between two adjacent cells. The interaction of cell membranes with collagen gels is a determinant factor in the orientation of apical-basal polarity. Moreover, the TSH treatment and cell-cell contact further intensify the polarization through reorganizing the cytoskeletons.