Renal responsiveness to synthetic human parathyroid hormone 1-38 in healthy subjects

Comparison of hypotensive response following intravenous injection of parathyroid hormone 1-84 and 1-34 in conscious rats

Activation of parathyroid hormone 1 (PTH-1) receptors on vascular smooth muscle cells causes relaxation and decreases blood pressure in rats and humans. However, when PTH(1-84) and PTH(1-34) were injected in anesthetized rats, PTH(1-34) produced a greater decrease in blood pressure. This study quantified the dose-response relationship of the hypotensive response to intravenously injected PTH(1-84) and PTH(1-34) in conscious rats and assessed the role that the C-terminal region of PTH(1-84) played in the differences. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased rapidly following injection of both peptides (0-100 nmol/kg) and reached a nadir at 1-2 minutes before increasing at a rate that was dose- and time-dependent. PTH(1-34) produced a greater hypotensive effect than PTH(1-84) at most doses tested and was significantly different from PTH(1-84) at 1-10 nmol/kg. The greatest difference in MAP decrease between PTH(1-84) and PTH(1-34) (24 and 35 mm Hg, respectively) occurred at 10 nmol/kg. Median effective dose (ED50) values for PTH(1-84) and PTH(1-34) were significantly different (5.9 and 1.3 nmol/kg, respectively). The C-terminal PTH fragments PTH(7-84), PTH(39-84), and PTH(53-84) did not affect MAP when injected alone (10 nmol/kg), nor did they influence the hypotensive response when given at a 10-fold molar excess in combination with PTH(1-84) or PTH(1-34) (1.4 nmol/kg). In conclusion, PTH(1-84) is a less potent but, because it induced the same maximum response, not a less efficacious hypotensive agent than PTH(1-34) when administered by bolus intravenous injection in conscious rats. We found no evidence to support the concept that the C-terminal region of PTH is responsible for this difference in potency.

Malignancy-associated hypercalcaemia: resolution of controversies over vitamin D metabolism by a pathophysiological approach to the syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is recognized as a major pathogenetic factor of humoral hypercalcaemia of malignancy but its action on vitamin D metabolism is controversial. Our aim was to study the relation between serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and humoral activity in malignancy-associated hypercalcaemia.

DESIGN

Prospective, cross-sectional, single-centre study of patients with documented solid malignancies, hypercalcaemia and suppressed plasma PTH concentrations.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Vitamin D metabolites, PTH, nephrogenous cyclic AMP (N-cAMP), PTHrP and biochemical parameters of calcium and bone metabolism were measured in 39 patients with solid malignancies and hypercalcaemia and bone scans were performed.

RESULTS

In 27 patients plasma PTHrP levels were elevated (69%) and in 9 patients (23%) serum 1,25-(OH)2D concentrations were not appropriately suppressed (> 92 pmol/l). Patients with plasma PTHrP levels below the upper limit of normal (< 1.6 pmol/l) had lower serum 1,25-(OH)2D concentrations than those with elevated levels (> 1.6 pmol/l) (47 +/- 6 vs 70 +/- 7 pmol/l, respectively; P < 0.04). Serum 1,25-(OH)2D concentrations were higher in patients with negative bone scans than in those with metastatic bone disease (80 +/- 9 vs 50 +/- 5 pmol/l; P < 0.01) and similar levels of plasma PTHrP. In the patients with negative bone scans there was a significant relation between plasma PTHrP and serum 1,25-(OH)2D (r = 0.51; P < 0.03) whereas there was no such correlation in those with a positive scan.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to current belief, serum 1,25-(OH)2D concentrations are not generally suppressed in humoral hypercalcaemia of malignancy and PTHrP is a determinant of these levels in the absence of demonstrable bone metastases. These findings provide further insights into the pathophysiology of malignancy-associated hypercalcaemia and may help in the clinical management of these patients.

The renal response to exogenous parathyroid hormone in treated pseudohypoparathyroidism

Resistance to the renal actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in pseudohypoparathyroidism (PsH) may be improved after treatment with vitamin D or its metabolites, but reports conflict. We have examined the renal response to infusion of 35 micrograms of 1-38 PTH in patients with PsH type I (n = 8) and PsH type II (n = 1) during treatment and related this to prevailing endogenous serum PTH and calcium levels. Nine patients with postsurgical or idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (HP) served as controls. The urinary cAMP increase (delta cAMP) was lower (p < 0.001) in the PsH type I (175 +/- 6.4 nmol/l glomerular filtrate) than in the HP group (3251 +/- 515 nmol/l glomerular filtrate). delta cAMP in the PsH type I subjects was dependent on endogenous PTH concentrations (r = -0.76; p = 0.046) and serum calcium (r = 0.74; p = 0.037). Phosphaturic responses (expressed as % decrease in TmPO4/glomerular filtration rate) were lower (p = 0.013) in the PsH type I (28.8 +/- 3.75) compared with those of the HP patients (43 +/- 3.48). The phosphaturic responses in the PsH type I patients were strongly dependent on endogenous PTH (r = 0.94; p < 0.001) and serum calcium levels (r = 0.94; p < 0.001) so that the responses of subjects with normal or low PTH levels were no different (p = 0.16) from the HP group. Renal handling of calcium and sodium in response to exogenous PTH was identical in patients with PsH (types I and II) and HP. Renal tubular reabsorption during a calcium infusion was normal in all patients with PsH. These results emphasise the importance of the modulatory effects due to associated biochemical abnormalities in PsH on the responses to exogenous PTH. They also confirm that renal handling of calcium and sodium is probably normal in treated PsH.

Parathyroid hormone gene analysis in autosomal hypoparathyroidism using an intragenic tetranucleotide (AAAT)n polymorphism

We have identified a polymorphic tetranucleotide consisting of (AAAT)n within the first intron of the parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene, and have used this to investigate the segregation of the PTH gene and idiopathic hypoparathyroidism in 7 affected and 21 unaffected members from three families. An association between the PTH locus and autosomal dominant idiopathic hypoparathyroidism in one family was excluded by observing recombination between the two loci. In the remaining two families with autosomal recessive idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, the PTH locus was not similarly excluded. We had previously demonstrated a donor splice site mutation of the PTH gene in one of these families, and PTH gene abnormalities were therefore sought in the second of these families. DNA sequence analysis of the three exons, together with 4 exon-intron boundaries and the promoter region of the PTH gene revealed no abnormalities, thereby indicating molecular pathology at another locus. Thus, our analysis of idiopathic hypoparathyroidism reveals genetic heterogeneity for this disorder. In addition, our identification of a microsatellite polymorphism of the PTH gene should help further segregation studies of this locus in families with parathyroid disorders.

A donor splice site mutation in the parathyroid hormone gene is associated with autosomal recessive hypoparathyroidism

Investigation of one kindred with autosomal recessive isolated hypoparathyroidism, which had resulted from a consanguineous marriage, has identified a g to c substitution in the first nucleotide of intron 2 of the parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene. This donor splice mutation could be detected by restriction enzyme cleavage with Ddel, and this revealed that the patients were homozygous for the mutant alleles, the unaffected relatives were heterozygous, and unrelated normals were homozygous for the wild type alleles. Defects in messenger RNA splicing were investigated by the detection of illegitimate transcription of the PTH gene in lymphoblastoid cells. The mutation resulted in exon skipping with a loss of exon 2, which encodes the initiation codon and the signal peptide, thereby causing parathyroid hormone deficiency.

The role of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in the maintenance of hypercalcemia in a patient with an ovarian carcinoma producing parathyroid hormone-related protein

The syndrome of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) is thought to be mainly a result of the production of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHRP) by malignant tumors. Serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-DHD) concentrations are generally low in such patients, which contrasts with the findings in animal studies. A patient is reported with HHM from a clear cell ovarian carcinoma and elevated serum immunoreactive PTHRP (about five times the upper limit of normal) in whom serum 1,25-DHD concentrations were abnormally high (200 pmol/l) and associated with increased intestinal calcium absorption. Treatment with two different nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (pamidronate and [3-dimethyl-amino-1-hydroxypropylidene]-1,1-bisphosphonate) did not normalize serum and urinary calcium despite effective inhibition of bone resorption. These observations suggested an additional intestinal contribution to the maintenance of hypercalcemia. Tumor removal was followed by decreases in serum immunoreactive PTHRP and 1,25-DHD concentrations to their respective normal ranges and normocalcemia. Separating HHM into Types I and II, according to the prevailing serum 1,25-DHD concentrations, can provide a basis for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of hypercalcemia, and it also may have practical use in the successful management of these patients.