Vitamin A stimulation of parathyroid hormone: interactions with calcium, hydrocortisone, and vitamin E in bovine parathyroid tissues and effects of vitamin A in man.

The effect of vitamin A, a membrane surface-active agent, on parathyroid hormone secretion was studied in vitro, using bovine parathyroid tissue, and in vivo in man. Parathyroid tissues were incubated with vitamin A (retinol), retinoic acid, and calcium, and with hydrocortisone and vitamin E, agents that antagonize the membrane effects of vitamin A. The stimulation of parathyroid hormone release by vitamin A, 10(-6) to 10(-9) mol/1 in vitro, was dose and time dependent. Retinoic acid did not stimulate secretion. High calcium concentration, hydrocortisone, 10(-5) mol/1 and 10(-6) mol/1, and vitamin E, 10(-5) mol/1, antagonized vitamin A-induced parathyroid hormone secretion. Vitamin A increased the lysosomal cathepsin D activity of parathyroid tissues. In human studies, eleven healthy men received two intramuscular injections of vitamin A palmitate, 25 000 units each, within 24 h. In every subject, serum parathyroid hormone increased after vitamin A administration. Our studies indicate that: (1) vitamin A stimulates parathyroid hormone secretion in vitro, possibly through modification of the cell or secretion granule membrane, or through stimulation of lysosomal proteolytic activity, and (2) vitamin A increases serum parathyroid hormone in vivo, and this effect may be important in clinical states of vitamin A excess.