Functional properties of normal and inverted rat thyroid follicles in suspension culture.

Rat thyroid follicles in both the normal and the inverted configuration have been cultured in suspension. It has been found that normal follicles (i.e., those having a structural organization similar to the follicles in vivo) express most functional properties of the thyroid gland. They trap iodide, synthesize, secrete, and iodinate thyroglobulin, and secrete thyroid hormone into the culture medium. On the contrary, in inverted follicles (i.e., those having a cell polarity reversed with respect to normal) we were unable to detect expression of some of these functions. We conclude that both the follicular organization and the proper cell polarity are needed for the full expression of thyroid functional properties.