AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 1 151-R156, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Parathyroid gland response to epinephrine: a rate-sensitivity mechanism
A. Jung, G. P. Mayer, J. G. Hurst, R. Neer and J. T. Potts Jr
A model for parathyroid gland response to an epinephrine infusion is
proposed. It is based on direct measurements of the parathyroid hormone
(PTH) secretion rate as measured directly after cannulation of the venous
drainage of single superior parathyroid glands of calves. When epinephrine
was infused into a jugular vein, a large increase of PTH secretion rate was
observed at the beginning of the infusion. The PTH secretion rate
thereafter fell, but it was still significantly above the control rate. At
the end of the epinephrine infusion a sharp decrease was observed when the
infusion was terminated. These observations are consistent with a
rate-sensitive control mechanism. Calculation of the parameters yielded a
model, which was then linked with a kinetic model for PTH distribution.
Simulation studies were undertaken to predict plasma PTH concentration in
response to an epinephrine infusion. Good agreement was found between
predicted results and previously published work. The role of this
rate-sensitive mechanism in the parathyroid gland is discussed.
