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Maternal and Fetal Parathyroid Hormone Responsiveness in Pregnant Primates^*

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Iowa City, Iowa 52242 the Departments of Anatomy and Medicine,University of Illinois at the Medical Center and Veterans Administration West Side Medical Center Chicago, Illinois 60612

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Roy M.Pitkin, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics,Iowa City,Iowa 52242.

Maternal and fetal parathyroid hormone (PTH)responsiveness to hypocalcemia induced by EDTA infusion (50 mg/kg over 2 h) was studied in rhesus monkeys in late pregnancy. Although baseline serum total calcium (Ca) levels in the fetus exceeded those in the mother(4.83 ±0.13 vs.4.28±0.15 meq/liter; P <0.001),PTH values were not significantly different (5.62±0.37 vs.6.18 ±0.33 juleq/ml; P > 0.05).EDTA infusion directly to five fetuses produced significant hypocalcemia (maximal decline averaging 19 ± 2%) and PTH response (maximal increase averaging 46 ±5%).In contrast, in four control studies involving fetal saline infusion, there were no significant changes in fetal Ca or PTH levels. Four maternal control infusions produced no significant changes in either Ca or PTH levelsA comparison of maternal and fetal PTH responses indicated considerable similarity, although fetalPTH levels tended to return to baseline somewhat more gradually after cessation of the hypocalcemic stimulus than did maternal levels. These studies indicate that fetal PTH secretion, both baseline and in response to hypocalcemia,is quantitatively similar to that of the adult, and thus, the fetal parathyroid does not appear to be suppressed by the relative hypercalcemia of late fetal life

^* This work was supported by grants from the NICHHD (HD-09373),The National Foundation-March of Dimes (6–141),and the Medical Research Service of the V.A

Received February 8, 1980.

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