The role of calcitonin (CT) in postprandial calcium homeostasis and the possibility of a gastroentero-thyroid C-cell system was studied in young pigs. When pigs were fasted for more than 36 h and then fed, the plasma calcium concentration decreased by 6·1% over a period of 60–120 min after a meal. Since in thyroidectomized pigs the plasma calcium concentration increased by 7·2% when they were fed after a fast of 36 h it is suggested that increased CT secretion assists in the control of postprandial hypercalcaemia. Direct measurement of CT in peripheral plasma supported this suggestion. Because the plasma calcium concentration in an intact pig on a normal feeding regime does not change after a meal, the possibility of the involvement of one or more humoral factors in the stimulation of thyroid C-cells was investigated. Exogenous gastrin and endogenous gastrin stimulated by meat extract were both previously shown by us to increase CT secretion rate. This observation has now been extended to include other stimuli to endogenous gastrin, e.g. glycine and gastric distension. Furthermore, partially purified enteroglucagon increased CT secretion rate from perfused thyroid glands, isolated in situ. Stimulation of endogenous entero-glucagon by the intraduodenal administration of glucose, and probable stimulation of endogenous pancreozymin by intraduodenal fat, were both associated with an increased CT secretion rate from the thyroid gland.
These results support the concept of a gastroentero-thyroid C-cell system which serves to stimulate CT secretion and thus to protect the skeleton from excessive bone resorption during periods of dietary sufficiency.
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Online ISSN: 1479-6805
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