Electron-microscopic studies on the threshold value of calcium concentration for the release of storage granules and the acceleration of their degradation in the rat parathyroid gland.

To determine both a threshold value of calcium concentration (CC) for the release of storage granules and that for the acceleration of degradation of these granules, the rat parathyroid glands were perfused in situ with HEPES-Ringer solutions containing different concentration of Ca2+ for 10 min. With perfusates containing 0.83-1.21 mM Ca2+ (equivalent to 8-11 mg/dl serum calcium), the number of type-I storage granules (large core) [NSG-I] and that of type-II storage granules (small core) [NSG-II] remained unchanged. With perfusates containing 0.83 mM Ca2+ (7.5 mg/dl) or less, however, both NSG-I and NSG-II decreased remarkably and the former was larger than the latter. On the contrary, with perfusates containing 1.27 mM Ca2+ (11.5 mg/dl) or more, NSG-II increased and the ratio of NSG-I to NSG-II was changed reversely. We concluded that a threshold value of CC required for the release of storage granules may be present between 0.88 and 0.83 mM Ca2+ (8 and 7.5 mg/dl) and that a threshold value of CC for accelerating the transformation of type-I granules into type-II, the degradation of storage granules, may be situated at about 1.27 mM Ca2+ (11.5 mg/dl). Additionally, it was suggested that both pro-secretory and storage granules are not only formed at the innermost Golgi cisterna but also at the trans-Golgi network.