Animal models of hyperfunctioning parathyroid diseases for drug development

Effect of etelcalcetide on parathyroid hormone secretion by primary hyperparathyroidism patient-derived primary parathyroid cells

INTRODUCTION

Etelcalcetide (Parsabiv^®, AMG 416/ONO-5163) is a novel allosteric modulator for the calcium-sensing receptor approved for hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism of uremia. Etelcalcetide reduced parathyroid hormone levels in hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism of uremia in clinical studies. However, its direct effect on parathyroid hormone secretion in human parathyroid cells remains unknown. This study aimed to determine if etelcalcetide suppresses parathyroid hormone secretion by human parathyroid cells in vitro.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We prepared primary cell cultures from human parathyroid tissue and determined calcium-sensing receptor expression levels by immunohistochemistry. Pathyroid tumors were removed from fourteen patients with primary hyperparathyrodism. Parathyroid tissue was dispersed with collagenase, resuspended in culture medium, incubated for 2 h with etelcalcetide and Ca²⁺, and the medium was then collected. Final etelcalcetide concentrations in the medium were 0.005-50 µmol/L. Levels of human parathyroid hormone in the medium were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

In eight of the fourteen parathyroid cell cultures, extracellular Ca²⁺ reduced parathyroid hormone levels. In four of the eight parathyroid cell cultures which responded extracellular Ca²⁺, etelcalcetide reduced hormone secretion with the 50% effective concentrations of 0.57, 20.8, 0.42, and 0.57 µmol/L. Expression levels of the calcium-sensing receptor were significantly lower in primary hyperparathyroidism patient-derived parathyroid tissues compared with controls.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report that etelcalcetide directly reduced parathyroid hormone secretion from the primary cultured human parathyroid cells from patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. To verify this conclusion, further studies are needed using secondary hyperparathyroidism patient-derived parathyroid cells.

Etelcalcetide decreases the PTH-calcium setpoint without changing maximum and minimum PTH secretion in mice with primary hyperparathyroidism

INTRODUCTION

Etelcalcetide binds to the extracellular domain of the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), while cinacalcet binds to the 7-transmembrane domain of the CaSR; however, it is unknown, whether etelcalcetide has similar effects to cinacalcet on parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The PTH-calcium setpoint and maximum and minimum PTH secretion were determined using an 'in vivo setpoint analyses.' The PTH-calcium setpoint was obtained in a mouse model of primary hyperparathyroidism (PC) and wild-type (WT) mice, with PC mice divided into two groups. The setpoint was obtained after 7 days of etelcalcetide (3.0 mg/kg BW/day) or vehicle administration via anosmotic pump. After 7 days of crossover administration, the setpoint was obtained again. Parathyroid glands were obtained after crossover administration, and CaSR expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

Etelcalcetide administration significantly decreased the setpoint from 9.03 ± 0.56 mg/dL to 6.80 ± 0.28 mg/dL, which was restored to 8.81 ± 0.38 mg/dL after vehicle administration. In the second group of mice, vehicle administration did not alter the setpoint (8.84 ± 0.69 mg/dL to 8.98 ± 0.63 mg/dL), but subsequent etelcalcetide administration significantly decreased it to 7.10 ± 0.72 mg/dL. There was no significant change in maximum and minimum PTH secretion. Expression levels of parathyroid CaSR were lower in PC mice than in WT mice; however, no significant differences were observed between the two mouse groups.

CONCLUSION

Etelcalcetide decreased the PTH-calcium setpoint without changing maximum and minimum PTH secretion in PC mice, suggesting that like cinacalcet, etelcalcetide has calcimimetic potency.

The browning of white adipose tissue and body weight loss in primary hyperparathyroidism

Background

Parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP) triggers white adipose tissue (WAT) browning and cachexia in lung cancer mouse models. It remains unknown whether excessive PTH secretion affects WAT browning and to what extent it contributes to body weight change in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).

Methods

Using the adeno-associated virus injection, Pth gene over-expressed mice mimicking PHPT were firstly established to observe their WAT browning and body weight alteration. The association between PTH and body weight was investigated in 496 PHPT patients. The adipose browning activities of 20 PHPT and 60 control subjects were measured with PET/CT scanning.

Findings

Elevated plasma PTH triggered adipose tissue browning, leading to increased energy expenditure, reduced fat content, and finally decreased body weight in PHPT mice. Higher circulating PTH levels were associated with lower body weight (β = −0.048, P = .0003) independent of renal function, serum calcium, phosphorus,and albumin levels in PHPT patients. PHPT patients exhibited both higher prevalence of detectable brown/beige adipose tissue (20% vs 3.3%, P = .03) and increased browning activities (SUV in cervical adipose was 0.77 vs 0.49,P = .02) compared with control subjects.

Interpretation

Elevated serum PTH drove WAT browning program, which contributed in part to body weight loss in both PHPT mice and patients. These results give insights into the novel pathological effect of PTH and are of importance in understanding the metabolic changes of PHPT.

Fund

This research is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Cinacalcet therapy in patients affected by primary hyperparathyroidism associated to Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome type 1 (MEN1)

Primary hyperparathyroidism is the main endocrinopathy associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 syndrome. Cinacalcet is a calcimimetic agent licensed for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with end-stage renal disease, and for the reduction of marked hypercalcemia in patients with parathyroid carcinoma and sporadic hyperparathyroidism requiring surgery but for whom parathyroidectomy is contraindicated. It may provide a medical alternative for the management of primary hyperparathyroidism in subjects affected by Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1. In this longitudinal, intervention study, 33 MEN1 patients had been enrolled, 10 males and 23 females with a mean age of 40 ± 11.9 years, range 20-63. Primary hyperparathyroidism was the first clinical manifestation in 12 patients. All subjects commenced with Cinacalcet 30 mg/day, 22 patients starting therapy with calcimimetics as an alternative to surgery, and 11 patients opting for the medication after the onset of persistent post-surgical primary hyperparathyroidism. Duration of follow-up was 12 months. The results of this study show significant reductions in serum calcium. The changes in hormonal secretions of pituitary and gastroenteropancreatic glands were not significant, demonstrating the overall safety of this drug in this disease. Cinacalcet has been well tolerated by 28 patients, whereas five individuals complained of heartburn and grade 1 nausea, which did not prevent the completion of the study. In conclusion, Cinacalcet has resulted to be well tolerated and safe in patients with MEN1 syndrome and the calcium homeostasis was stabilized.

Matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein is expressed in causative tumors of oncogenic osteomalacia

Oncogenic osteomalacia (OOM), or tumor-induced osteomalacia, is a rare disease characterized by renal phosphate wasting and osteomalacia. It arises due to the secretion of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) from causative tumors. Matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE) is predominantly expressed in odontoblasts, osteoblasts, and osteocytes. Although the presence of MEPE mRNA has been reported in some OOM tumors, little is known about the prevalence of MEPE expression in OOM tumors. In this study, the expression of MEPE and FGF-23 in OOM tumors was investigated at the transcriptional and translational levels. Eleven causative OOM tumors were analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry for MEPE and FGF-23 expression. Hemangiopericytomas and giant cell tumors, pathological diagnoses that are common in cases of OOM, were obtained from non-osteomalacic patients and analyzed as controls. The gene expression level of FGF23 and MEPE in OOM tumors was 10(4)- and 10(5)-times higher, respectively, than in non-OOM tumors. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that FGF-23 protein was expressed in all OOM tumors, and MEPE was expressed in 10 out of 11 OOM tumors. Thus, MEPE expression was common in OOM tumors, similar to FGF-23. These results indicate that, in addition to the hypophosphatemic effects of FGF-23, MEPE or the MEPE-derived acidic serine aspartate-rich MEPE-associated motif peptide may contribute to decreased bone mineralization in OOM patients.

Parathyroid diseases and animal models

CIRCULATING CALCIUM AND PHOSPHATE ARE TIGHTLY REGULATED BY THREE HORMONES: the active form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23, and parathyroid hormone (PTH). PTH acts to stimulate a rapid increment in serum calcium and has a crucial role in calcium homeostasis. Major target organs of PTH are kidney and bone. The oversecretion of the hormone results in hypercalcemia, caused by increased intestinal calcium absorption, reduced renal calcium clearance, and mobilization of calcium from bone in primary hyperparathyroidism. In chronic kidney disease, secondary hyperparathyroidism of uremia is observed in its early stages, and this finally develops into the autonomous secretion of PTH during maintenance hemodialysis. Receptors in parathyroid cells, such as the calcium-sensing receptor, vitamin D receptor, and FGF receptor (FGFR)-Klotho complex have crucial roles in the regulation of PTH secretion. Genes such as Cyclin D1, RET, MEN1, HRPT2, and CDKN1B have been identified in parathyroid diseases. Genetically engineered animals with these receptors and the associated genes have provided us with valuable information on the patho-physiology of parathyroid diseases. The application of these animal models is significant for the development of new therapies.

Evaluation of bone markers in hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia

N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP) is a marker of newly formed type I collagen. However, its role in hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia has not yet been established. Metabolic bone markers were examined in patients with oncogenic osteomalacia (OOM) and X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH), and in healthy controls. OOM and XLH patients were found to have hypophosphatemia secondary to elevated levels of serum fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23). OOM patients had reduced levels of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D (1,25D) compared with XLH patients and healthy controls, despite attenuation of the reduction in these levels in the XLH patients secondary to active vitamin D supplementation. In contrast to patients with XLH, OOM patients showed a significant increase in serum PINP, which is suggestive of accelerated bone matrix formation. Bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and the BAP/PINP ratio were also increased in OOM but not in XLH patients, suggesting the presence of a disturbance in bone mineralization in OOM. Long-term supplementation of active form vitamin D and inorganic phosphate (IP) may have attenuated the defect in bone mineralization in the XLH patients, resulting in the normalization of PINP, BAP, and the BAP/PINP ratio. The present results suggest that, as with BAP, PINP is an appropriate metabolic bone marker in the assessment of hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia.

Cinacalcet HCl suppresses Cyclin D1 oncogene-derived parathyroid cell proliferation in a murine model for primary hyperparathyroidism

Cinacalcet HCl (cinacalcet) is a calcimimetic compound, which suppresses parathyroid (PTH) hormone secretion from parathyroid glands in both primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). We previously reported the suppressive effect of cinacalcet on PTH secretion in vivo in a PHPT model mouse, in which parathyroid-targeted overexpression of the cyclin D1 oncogene caused chronic biochemical hyperparathyroidism and parathyroid cell hyperplasia. Although cinacalcet suppressed parathyroid cell proliferation in SHPT in 5/6-nephrectomized uremic rats, its effect on PHPT has not yet been determined. In this study, the effect of cinacalcet on parathyroid cell proliferation was analyzed in PHPT mice. Cinacalcet (1 mg/g) was mixed into the rodent diet and orally administrated to 80-week-old PHPT mice for 10 days before death. 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU, 6 mg/day) was infused by an osmotic pump for 5 days before death, followed by immunostaining of the thyroid-parathyroid complex using an anti-BrdU antibody to estimate parathyroid cell proliferation. Compared to untreated PHPT mice, cinacalcet significantly suppressed both serum calcium and PTH. The proportion of BrdU-positive cells to the total cell number in the parathyroid glands increased considerably in untreated PHPT mice (9.5 ± 3.1%) compared to wild-type mice (0.7 ± 0.1%) and was significantly suppressed by cinacalcet (1.2 ± 0.2%). Cinacalcet did not affect apoptosis in the parathyroid cells of PHPT mice. These data suggest that cinacalcet suppressed both serum PTH levels and parathyroid cell proliferation in vivo in PHPT.

The levels of somatostatin receptors in causative tumors of oncogenic osteomalacia are insufficient for their agonist to normalize serum phosphate levels

Oncogenic osteomalacia (OOM) is a rare disease characterized by renal phosphate wasting and osteomalacia and is caused by the secretion of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) from causative tumors. Scintigraphy with octreotide, which binds to somatostatin receptors (SSTRs), is a useful way to locate causative tumors in OOM patients. However, the therapeutic effects of octreotide acetate are still controversial. Two OOM patients were administered octreotide acetate intramuscularly. Ten causative OOM tumors, including two resected from the patients participating in the octreotide administration study, were examined for expression of genes encoding SSTRs by quantitative real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Octreotide therapy did not improve hypophosphatemia in either case, despite temporal decreases in FGF-23 levels in one patient. The mean expression levels of SSTR1, SSTR3, and SSTR5 were similar in the OOM and non-OOM tumors. Expression of SSTR2 was significantly higher in the OOM tumors than in the non-OOM tumors. Immunohistochemical examinations revealed the presence of SSTR2A, SSTR2B, and SSTR5 in both the OOM and non-OOM tumors. The expression of SSTR genes in OOM tumors contributes to positive imaging using octreotide scintigraphy. However, the levels of SSTRs seem to be insufficient for the octreotide therapy to improve hypophosphatemia. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms by which FGF-23 secretion from OOM tumors is suppressed by octreotide acetate.