The role of parathyroid hormone‐related protein in calcium homeostasis in the fetal pig

Abstract

The concentrations of plasma parathyroid hormone‐like bioactivity and parathyroid hormone‐related protein (1–86) (PTHrP) immunoreactivity were both higher in fetal pigs than in their mothers during the last 3 weeks of gestation. Both activities changed inversely with alterations in the plasma ionized calcium concentration. The data suggest that PTHrP may have a role in calcium homeostasis in the fetal pig, similar to its postulated role in sheep in the stimulation of calcium transport across the placenta. © 1994 The Physiological Society