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Original Studies |
Endocrine-Hypertension (G.E.-H.F., J.S., E.M.B.) and Renal (J.S.) Divisions, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Ghada El-Hajj Fuleihan, M.D., M.P.H., Endocrine Division, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Bliss Street, Beirut, Lebanon. E-mail: gf01{at}aub.edu.lb
| Abstract |
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Eight normal male subjects were evaluated using a calcium clearance protocol with graded calcium infusions under a PTH clamp while in balance during a high and then during a low sodium diet. The curves describing calcium and magnesium excretion as a function of serum ionized calcium on the high sodium diet were best fitted by sigmoidal functions, with midpoints (the levels of calcium resulting in half-maximal increases in urinary cation excretion) of 1.51 and 1.49 mmol/L, respectively. The curve describing urinary sodium as a function of serum calcium was also sigmoidal on the high sodium diet, with a midpoint of 1.55 mmol/L.
Our data taken in conjunction with those of previous studies evaluating sodium and calcium excretion in diseases characterized by inactivating or activating mutations in the calcium receptor, are consistent with the hypothesis that PTH-independent, calcium-dependent changes in renal calcium, magnesium, and sodium handling may be mediated at least in part by this receptor, which is known to be located in the loop of Henle.
| Introduction |
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In vivo and in vitro studies have suggested that in addition to acting indirectly by inhibiting PTH secretion, elevated concentrations of Ca and Mg also directly inhibit Ca and Mg reabsorption in the CTAL (9, 10, 11, 12). Indeed, several Ca clearance studies have shown a steep increase in UCa excretion in response to an oral or iv load of Ca (13, 14, 15, 16). The role of changes in Ca per se on its own excretion was, however, unclear because of the concomitant decrements in PTH levels in response to the Ca loads in the above studies. Nevertheless, the fact that this increase in UCa excretion is preserved in patients with surgical hypoparathyroidism but is lost in hypoparathyroid patients with familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH), who carry heterozygous inactivating mutations in the extracellular Ca-sensing receptor (CaR) (14), points to a central role of this receptor in UCa handling. Indeed, the CaR not only plays a key role in regulating PTH secretion (17, 18, 19, 20), but it is also present in regions of the rat kidney where PTH regulates renal tubular Ca reabsorption and may itself modulate renal tubular handling of Ca (5, 21, 22). In the present study, we have, therefore, further characterized the direct effects of Ca on its own excretion 1) under a PTH clamp and 2) with rigorously controlled salt balance, two factors with significant impact on Ca excretion that have not been controlled for in previous studies evaluating the effects of changes in serum Ca on renal calcium handling in humans. The effect of changes in serum ionized calcium (SCai) levels on Mg and Na excretion were also evaluated for the following reasons: 1) there is coupling of Ca and Mg excretion in micropuncture and in clearance studies (9, 11); 2) the CaR senses not only changes in serum Ca but also those in serum Mg levels (21); 3) there are often parallel changes in Na and Ca excretion in clearance studies (11, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27); and 4) the coupling in Ca and Mg excretion seems to operate in part via Ca-induced inhibition of an apical potassium (K) channel that is needed for recycling of K into the lumen of the CTAL for continued activity of the apical NaK2Cl cotransporter (28).
| Materials and Methods |
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Eight healthy men were studied. Before enrollment, each volunteer underwent a physical examination and a laboratory evaluation that included a multichannel chemistry analysis, a serum TSH determination, and a complete blood count with differential. The study was reviewed and approved by the committee for the protection of human subjects of the Brigham and Womens Hospital. Informed written consent was obtained from each subject before participation.
Experimental design
Because of the significant impact of Na excretion on renal Ca
handling, our Ca clearance studies were performed sequentially on the
same subjects while in balance [as assessed by 24-h urinary sodium
(UNa) excretion] during a high and then during a low salt diet.
Balance was usually achieved between days 4 and 5 of each diet. The
diet was provided by the metabolic kitchen of the General Clinical
Research Center and contained 1.01.3 g protein/kg BW, 900-1100 mg Ca,
10001400 mg phosphorus, either 200 or 10 mEq Na, 400 ± 80 IU
vitamin D, and 200400 mg Mg/day. Subjects consumed their meals at
0800, 1300, and 1800 h and had a snack at 2100 h, except
during the clearance protocol when they fasted until 1300 h. On
the day of admission, an iv catheter was inserted for the
administration of Parathar after blood was drawn for baseline
chemistries and intact PTH (iPTH) levels. The Parathar infusion, human
PTH-(134) (Rorer Pharmaceuticals, King of Prussia, PA), at a dose of
0.2 U/kg·h (0.035 µg/kg·h) was started at 0800 h on day 1.
An additional catheter was placed at 0700 h on day 2 for the Ca
clearance protocol, which was performed after an overnight fast at the
General Clinical Research Center with the subjects in a recumbent
position except while voiding. The protocol was a modification of that
described by Attie et al. (14) and is summarized in Fig. 1
. We previously demonstrated that within
12 h after initiation of Parathar administration, as described
above, a steady state was reached where iPTH levels were suppressed and
N-terminal PTH levels were in the upper part of the normal range
[normal range, up to 25 pg/mL in PTH-(134) units] (El-Hajj
Fuleihan, G., unpublished observations). Blood for determination of
baseline chemistries and SCai and iPTH levels was drawn via
the iv catheter. Subjects drank 200 mL distilled water at 0700 h
and again every 30 min throughout the clearance study to maintain
urinary flow. At 0900 h, a control clearance protocol lasting 180
min was started with urine collections every 30 min and blood sampling
in the middle of the corresponding urine clearance period
(e.g. urine clearance 09000930 h; blood sampling at
0915 h). The clearance protocol was discontinued at noon, and the
subjects were allowed to eat and ambulate while the PTH infusion
continued. On day 3, the clearance protocol was repeated during
administration of a Ca infusion. Calcium chloride (CaCl2)
was infused at two rates: 75 µEq (37.5 µmol) elemental Ca/kg·h
and then 100 µEq (50 µmol) elemental Ca/kg·h for three
consecutive 30-min clearance periods for each dose. For all clearance
periods, venous blood was obtained from an antecubital vein (in the arm
opposite that used for the infusion) for measurement of
Cai, total Ca, iPTH, Mg, and Na. UCa, UMg, UNa, and
creatinine (UCr) were measured for all clearance periods.
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Serum chemistry values were determined by the clinical chemistry laboratory; total serum Ca was measured with a colorimetric method using an Olympus AU-5061 analyzer (Olympus Corp., Lake Success, NY). The intra- and interassay coefficients of variation (CV) for Ca in this method were 1.09% and 1.36%, respectively.
Blood for SCai determination was collected anaerobically and measured with an AVL 987-S electrolyte analyzer (AVL Scientific Corp., Roswell, GA), which has an intraassay CV of 0.39% and an interassay precision of 1.72.5% for Cai levels between 1.121.28 mmol/L (normal range, 1.151.33 mmol/L).
Serum iPTH was measured by the Allegro immunoradiometric assay (Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA). The detection limit of the assay is 1 pg/mL (normal range, 1065 pg/mL), and the intra- and interassay CVs are 1.7% and 6.5% at iPTH levels of 37.7 and 41.1 pg/mL, respectively. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 was measured by a competitive protein binding assay, with a normal range of 1055 ng/mL.
SCai was measured on the day of the infusion, whereas all other serum samples were stored at -70 C. All samples from each patient were subsequently run in duplicate in a single assay.
Analyses
Cation excretion was expressed as a function of the glomerular filtrate (GF), e.g. for Ca it is expressed as UCa x volume/GF, where GF is UCr x volume/SCr; therefore, the Ca excretion/GF = UCa x volume x SCr/UCr x volume = UCa x SCr/UCr. The values are expressed as millimoles per L GF. This was calculated for each cation (Ca, Mg, and Na) for each subject during each clearance period. An average value for the eight subjects was then computed and plotted as a function of the average SCai, as ultrafilterable Ca was not calculated. We have, however, shown previously that in the case of the parathyroid gland, ionized rather than ultrafilterable Ca is sensed by the parathyroid cell (29). The data for each cation were fitted to a sigmoidal curve using the software GraphPad PRISM version 1.0 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA). The four parameters describing any sigmoidal curve (in this instance, urinary cation excretion) were determined by the program software for the eight subjects on both the high and low salt diets. They are as follows: 1) maximal cation excretion, 2) minimal cation excretion, 3) midpoint (SCai concentration resulting in a half-maximal change in urinary excretion), and 4) slope of the curve at the midpoint. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM unless specified otherwise.
| Results |
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Our subjects were young (30.6 ± 3.3 yr) and had normal serum chemistries and levels of calciotropic hormones. There were no differences in the 24-h calculated Cr clearances on the high and low salt diets, and the values were 110 ± 11 and 98 ± 14 mL/min, respectively. The 24-h values for UNa excretion measured 45 days after the start of the high and low salt diets were 184 ± 23 and 7.3 ± 1.9 mEq, respectively, thus confirming that the subjects were indeed in balance.
Biochemical profile during the clearance protocols
As shown in Fig. 2
, a gradual
increase in SCa levels was inversely related to a gradual decline in
iPTH levels. iPTH reached 1.53 ± 0.20 pmol/L by 0800 h on
day 2 of the high salt diet, at which time the first control clearance
protocol took place. On day 3, iPTH levels decreased further due to the
additional increments in SCai resulting from the Ca
infusion. Serum Mg levels showed a diurnal rhythm during the high salt
diet, with a nadir occurring between 00000400 h (Fig. 2
).
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During the high salt diet, Ca excretion (millimoles per L GF) was
tightly fitted to a sigmoidal curve, with a midpoint (SCai
concentration resulting in a half-maximal change in Ca excretion) of
1.51 ± 0.009 mmol/L (r2 = 0.99; Fig. 3
). The characteristics of the curve are
fully detailed in Table 1
. Because the
curve was not clearly sigmoidal during the low salt diet, a midpoint
was not calculated (Fig. 3
).
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Mg excretion
During the high salt diet, Mg excretion (millimoles per L GF) was
tightly fitted to a sigmoidal curve, with a midpoint (SCai
concentration resulting in a half-maximal increase in Mg excretion) of
1.49 ± 0.01 mmol/L (r2 = 0.96; Fig. 4
). The characteristics of the curve are
fully detailed in Table 1
. As with the Ca data, the curve during the
low salt diet was not clearly sigmoidal, and a midpoint was not
calculated (Fig. 4
). Maximal Mg excretion was slightly, but not
significantly, higher during the low salt diet compared to that during
the high salt diet (P = 0.07).
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During the high salt diet, Na excretion (millimoles per L GF) was
also tightly fitted to a sigmoidal curve, with a midpoint
(SCai concentration resulting in a half-maximal increase in
Na excretion) of 1.55 ± 0.02 mmol/L (r2 = 0.93; Fig. 5a
). As with the Ca data, the curve
during the low salt diet was not clearly sigmoidal, and a midpoint was
not calculated (Fig. 5b
). Because of the close relationship between UCa
and UNa excretion, the same data were also evaluated expressing the
former as a function of the latter (Fig. 6
). During both the high and
low salt diets, UCa as a function of UNa was fitted to a steep
sigmoidal curve, with r2 = 0.94 and r2 = 0.93,
respectively (Fig. 6
).
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| Discussion |
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UCa excretion varies as a function of salt balance, with Ca excretion
increasing at higher levels of Na excretion (23, 24, 25). Although the
patients reported by Attie et al. were studied during a high
salt diet, the salt intake in many other studies was not specified (13, 15, 16). In our study, we carefully evaluated the impact of salt on Ca
excretion by studying the same subjects while in balance during a high
and then during a low salt diet. As shown in Fig. 6
, Ca excretion
increased concomitantly with increments in Na excretion in response to
the Ca infusion. The sharp increments in Na excretion in response to
the rising levels of SCai, doubling during the high and
quadrupling during the low salt diets, have been previously observed in
an animal model and in vitro (26, 27). The increment in Na
excretion in response to the Ca load in our studies is comparable to
that reported by Attie et al. in one hypoparathyroid patient
(14). This Ca-induced natriuresis may contribute to the extracellular
volume depletion and renal concentrating defect in patients with
hypercalcemia (31).
Our observations may also elucidate the mechanism(s) by which oral Ca
supplementation decreases blood pressure in patients with
salt-sensitive hypertension (32). Indeed, several studies suggest that
the effect of Na intake on blood pressure is determined by the adequacy
of other minerals, such as Ca (33, 34, 35), Mg (36), and K (37). The
pressor effect of NaCl seems to be expressed in subjects with the
lowest intake of these minerals (32, 34, 38). The natriuretic effect of
Ca may be mediated either through increases in serum and/or renal
tubular Ca concentration. In Fig. 7
, we
propose a model that outlines the modulation of Ca, Mg, and Na
excretion by serum Ca that takes into account available data, including
our own.
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An essential role of the CaR is further suggested by human diseases in which activating or inactivating mutations in this receptor result in dramatic changes in urinary cation excretion. The excessively avid tubular reabsorption of Ca in FHH is only reversed with the use of loop diuretics that act on the CTAL where the receptor is known to be located, at least in rodents (22). Parathyroidectomized patients with familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia carry heterozygous inactivating mutations in the CaR (39) and demonstrate a marked blunting of UCa and UNa excretion (14, 40) in response to a Ca infusion that is corrected by ethacrynic acid (14). These findings support the idea that CTAL is a major site of excessive reabsorption of Ca due to impaired CaR-mediated inhibition of the NaK2Cl cotransporter. The latter also presumably explains the failure of Ca infusion to increase UNa in these patients (14). In contrast, despite their higher PTH levels, untreated subjects with autosomal dominant hypocalcemia (who carry activating mutations of the CaR) exhibit rates of Ca excretion that are 2-fold higher than those in patients with classical hypoparathyroidism (41, 42, 43). The development and use of specific CaR agonists and antagonists in conjunction with a PTH clamp (as in this study) will further clarify the role of renal CaRs in regulating various aspects of renal function.
| Conclusion |
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| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received August 14, 1997.
Revised March 2, 1998.
Accepted March 30, 1998.
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