Homologous radioimmunoassay for human parathyrin (residues 53-84).

We describe a sequential saturation double-antibody radioimmunoassay for carboxyl-terminal fragments of human parathyrin (hPTH) in serum. Standards are prepared with synthetic hPTH (residues 53-84) in hPTH-free serum. Antisera are obtained by immunizing guinea pigs with partly purified hPTH extracted from adenomatous glands. Tracer is prepared by labeling hPTH (53-84), presumably at the histidine residue, with 125I by the Chloramine T method at pH 8.6. Dilution curves for hPTH extracted from adenomas are superimposable on dilution curves for the synthetic 53-84 fragment. Dilution of sera from hyperparathyroid patients showed linearity of response with concentration in the present assay, but non-linearity in the heterologous radioimmunoassay. In contrast to the heterologous system, which discriminated 28 of 32 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism from 32 normals (normal range: undetectable to 54 pmol/L, omitting the highest and lowest values from controls), the present assay separated these groups without overlap.