Regulation of renal sodium calcium exchange by PTH: alteration with age

Parathyroid hormone, when incubated with renal cells acting in vivo and in vitro, increased Na+/Ca2+ exchange activity. The effect of parathyroid hormone was specific for biologically active analogs and could be mimicked by cAMP and forskolin. Parathyroid hormone-sensitive Na+/Ca2+ exchange activity was markedly blunted in cells from senescent rats. Parathyroid hormone-stimulated adenylate cyclase was also decreased in aging. In contrast, forskolin-stimulated Na(+)-dependent Ca2+ efflux and adenylate cyclase did not change with senescence. Decrease of PTH binding sites was observed in cells from old rats. Further, cells from 24-month-old rats had decreased Gs and Gi proteins, as detected by ADP-ribosylation. Since serum iPTH level was elevated in the old rat and could contribute to the desensitization to PTH, we tested this hypothesis by comparing sham-operated and PTX animals. The decreases in PTH-sensitive Na+/Ca2+ exchange activity and adenylate cyclase activity in cells from 24-month-old rats could be completely negated by parathyroidectomy. Decrease in PTH binding sites and contents of Gs and Gi in cells from aged-rats was partially negated by the surgery. In conclusion, our results suggested that the age related blunting in responses of renal cells to PTH was due, at least in part, to the elevated serum iPTH level in old rats.