Generation of Hypoparathyroid Rats via Carbon-Nanoparticle-Assisted Parathyroidectomy

Summary

An animal model of acquired hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is crucial to understanding how HypoPT affects mineral ion homeostasis and to verify the effectiveness of novel treatments. Here, a technique is presented to generate an acquired hypoparathyroidism (AHypoPT) rat model by parathyroidectomy (PTX) using carbon nanoparticles.

Abstract

Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a rare disease involving the parathyroid glands that is characterized by a reduced secretion or potency of the parathyroid hormone (PTH), which leads to high serum phosphorus levels and low serum calcium levels. HypoPT most commonly results from accidental damage to the glands or their removal during thyroid or other anterior neck surgery. Parathyroid/thyroid surgery has become more common in recent years, with a corresponding rise in the occurrence of HypoPT as a postoperative complication. There is a critical need for a HypoPT animal model to better understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of HypoPT on mineral ion homeostasis and to verify the therapeutic effectiveness of novel treatments. Here, a technique is reported to create acquired HypoPT in male rats by performing parathyroidectomy (PTX) using carbon nanoparticles. The rat model shows great promise over the mouse models of hypoparathyroidism. Importantly, the human PTH receptor binding region has an 84.2% sequence similarity with that of the rat, which is higher than the 73.7% similarity shared with mice. Moreover, the effects of estrogen, which can affect the PTH/PTHrP receptor signaling pathway, have not been fully investigated in male rats. Carbon nanoparticles are lymphatic tracers that stain the thyroid lymph nodes black without affecting their function, but they do not stain the parathyroid glands, which makes them easy to identify and remove. In this study, serum PTH levels were undetectable after PTX, and this resulted in significant hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia. Thus, the clinical state of postoperative HypoPT can be remarkably represented in the rat model. Carbon-nanoparticle-assisted PTX can, therefore, serve as an extraordinarily effective and readily implementable model for studying the pathogenesis, treatment, and prognosis of HypoPT.

Introduction

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is secreted by the parathyroid glands. It is a major modulator of the calcium balance, maintains phosphate metabolism, and participates in bone turnover^1,2. Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) manifests as a decreased secretion or functional loss of PTH. It is a rare endocrine disorder, with a prevalence of approximately 9-37 per 100,000 person-years^3,4,5. HypoPT is characterized by decreased serum PTH and calcium levels accompanied by increased serum phosphorus^6,

Protocol

This study was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Sichuan University. Permission was obtained from relevant local agencies before the experiment. Eight 8-10 week old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, with an average weight of 200-250 g, were used for the present study. The animals were obtained from a commercial source (see Table of Materials). Food and water were provided ad libitum throughout the experimental period.

Discussion

Epidemiological reports indicate that the detection of thyroid diseases has increased significantly, and the number of related surgeries performed has increased accordingly^19,20. The incidence rate of postsurgical hypoparathyroidism is approximately 7.6%^8,21, while the increased morbidity of acquired hypoparathyroidism has caused this rare disease to gain greater research attention. It is, therefore, part.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.9% Sodium Chloride Solution	Kelun Co. Sichuan, China
10 µL 30G NanoFil Syringe	WPI
6-0 polyglactin 910 suture with needle	Ethicon, Inc	J510G
Calcium LiquiColor test	EKF	0155-225	For Ca2+ analysis
Carbon Nanoparticles Suspension Injection	Lummy, Chongqing, China	H20073246	1 mL : 50 mg
Creatinine (Cr) Assay kit ( sarcosine oxidase )	Jiancheng, Nanjing, China	C011-2-1	For creatinine analysis
Disposable Scalpel	Shinva, China
Dumstar Biology forceps	Shinva, China
Micro Dissecting Spring Scissors	Shinva, China
MicroVue Rat intact PTH ELISA	Immunotopics	30-2531	For the measurement of PTH in rat serum
Needle Holder	Shinva, China
Phosphorus Liqui-UV test	EKF	0830-125	For Pi analysis
Ply gauze	Weian Co. Henan, China
Povidone-Iodine	Yongan pharmaceutical Co.Ltd. Chengdu, China
Prism 9.0 (statistics and graphing software)	GraphPad Software, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA		https://www.graphpad.com/scientific-software/prism/
Rat C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I) ELISA Kit	CUSABIO, Wuhan, China	CSB-E12776r	For CTX-I analysis
Rat Osteocalcin/Bone Gla Protein (OT/BGP) ELISA Kit	CUSABIO, Wuhan, China	CSB-E05129r	For osteocalcin analysis
Safety Single Edge Razor Blades	American Safety Razor Company	66-0089
Sprague-Dawley Rats			8 to 10 weeks old
Surgical Incise Drapes	Liangyou Co. Sichuan, China
Urea Assay Kit	Jiancheng, Nanjing, China	C013-2-1	For urea analysis