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Updated: Oct 9, 2026

Two Techniques to Create Hypoparathyroid Mice: Parathyroidectomy Using GFP Glands and Diphtheria-Toxin-Mediated Parathyroid Ablation
Published on: March 14, 2017
Oestrogen, progesterone, and glucocorticoid receptors in normal and neoplastic parathyroid glands
1Department of Surgery, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Objective:
To verify the presence or absence of steroid receptors in the parathyroid glands of patients undergoing operations on the parathyroid and thyroid glands.
Design:
Open experimental study.
Setting:
Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Material:
165 parathyroid glands from 137 patients, 108 of whom underwent operations on the parathyroid glands and 29 on the thyroid gland.
Interventions:
Normal and neoplastic parathyroid tissue was analysed for its content of oestrogen and progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors using either ligand binding or antibodies raised against oestrogen and progesterone receptors.
Results:
Positive reactions to female sex steroid receptors (defined as > 0.05 fmol/microgram DNA) were uncommon (9%) regardless of the morphological classification of the glands or the age, sex, and menopausal status of the patients. Glucocorticoid receptors were detected in 107/163 (66%) of all glands analysed (mean value 0.43 fmol/micrograms DNA, range 0-44). Seventy of the 96 diseased glands (73%) contained receptors, as did 27/67 normal glands from patients with primary hyperparathyroidism or those undergoing thyroid operations. The difference was again not associated with age, sex, and menopausal status.
Conclusions:
It seems unlikely that sex steroid hormones play a physiological part in the secretion of parathyroid hormone, but our finding of glucocorticoid receptors in normal as well as diseased parathyroid tissue suggests that they may have a role in the regulation of parathyroid function.
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