Abstract
The heterogeneous distribution of thyroid C-cells has until now hindered an objective evaluation of changes caused by age or experimental stimuli. To overcome this, a rigorous methodology has been designed to detect variations in shape, size, and number of C-cells throughout development. Using this methodology, we have demonstrated that C-cells do not significantly alter their shape with age. However, their volume increases gradually from 472 μm3 in newborn rats to 1653 μm3 in 120-day-old animals. Over the same time period, the mean number of C-cells within the thyroid gland increased 9-fold (from 1.6x104 to 1.5x105), and the number of C-cells per unit area decreased (from 6.15x104/mm3 to 2.6x104/mm3). We conclude that there are marked variations in size, total number, and number of C-cells per unit area in the rat thyroid gland after birth.
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Conde, E., Martín-Lacave, I., Utrilla, J.C. et al. Postnatal variations in the number and size of C-cells in the rat thyroid gland. Cell Tissue Res 280, 659–663 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318368
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318368