Parathyroid gland regulation: contribution of the in vivo and in vitro models

Abstract

Importance of the field: The current regulation of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the development of parathyroid disorders in chronic kidney disease involve complex mechanisms. Factors such as calcium, phosphorous, calcitriol, vitamin D receptor, calcium-sensing receptor and fibroblast growth factor 23 play a key role in the regulatory process in the pathogenesis of secondary hyperparathyroidism.

Areas covered in this review: This review provides an analysis of published results related to the different models and approaches used to study the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of secondary hyperparathyroidism. The review includes clinical studies, animal and ex vivo/in vitro models which have been extensively used in this area.

What the reader will gain: Readers will have an overview of the main findings and progress achieved in the knowledge of the parathyroid function combining the results obtained from the different models used to understand the parathyroid gland regulation.

Take home message: Each of the available models used to study the complex system of parathyroid regulation has advantages and limitations; therefore, it is necessary to combine the information obtained from more than one model in order to have a more complete knowledge of the mechanisms involved in PTH regulation.

Keywords::

• calcium
• FGF23
• in vitro models
• in vivo models
• parathyroid function
• parathyroid hormone
• phosphorous
• secondary hyperparathyroidism

Acknowledgements

The authors thank MS Ruiz and C Riesgo for the language review.

Notes

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