Evidence for a function of calcium influx in the stimulation of hormone release fron the parathyroid gland in the goat.

The acute effects of various drugs on the release of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in goats were studied by local infusions in vivo. Infusions of Ca2+ or Sr2+ reduced the PTH secretion rate, whereas hypocalcemia induced by EDTA increased the PTH release. Blockers of voltage sensitive Ca2+ channels (verapamil, D-600 and nifedipine) lowered the PTH secretion rate, while infusion of 4-aminopyridine, which is a blocker of voltage sensitive K+ channels, increased the PTH release. These effects were not due to altered beta-adrenergic tonus, since the effects persisted when the drugs were administered during continuous infusion of the beta-blocker propranolol. We suggest that the parathyroid cells possess voltage sensitive K+ and Ca2+ channels, and that exocytosis of stored PTH depends on the influx of extracellular Ca2+ as in other secretory cells. In order to explain the inverse relationship between the plasma Ca2+ level and the PTH release, we postulate a suppressive effect of the plasma Ca2+ on the membrane permeability to Ca2+ in parathyroid cells.