Effect of magnesium deficiency and parathyroid hormone on cyclic AMP metabolism in rat renal cortex

The influence of magnesium deficiency on cyclic AMP metabolism was investigated in rats on diets of normal and low calcium content. Magnesium deficiency itself did not significantly affect either the basal concentration or the parathyroid hormone-stimulated formation of cyclic AMP in the renal cortex. Magnesium-deficient rats with hypercalcaemia excreted more cyclic AMP in the urine, but similar rats that developed hypocalcaemia on low calcium intake excreted less than their respective controls. The former type of animals also tended to accumulate more cyclic AMP in the renal cortex in response to the injection of a standard dose of parathyroid hormone, whereas rats of the latter type accumulated less. The activity of parathyroid hormone-stimulated renal cortical adenylate cyclase in vitro was increased by magnesium and reduced by calcium under most conditions, but with low concentrations of magnesium small amounts of calcium had a stimulatory effect. These observations suggest that cyclic AMP metabolism is influenced by metabolic disorders developing secondary to magnesium deficiency.