Parathyroid Cell Surface Autoantibodies That Inhibit Parathyroid Hormone Secretion from Dispersed Human Parathyroid Cells

Serum autoantibodies directed toward antigenic determinants on the surface of human parathyroid cells (PTAb-CS) have been demonstrated in a subset (8 of 23) of adult patients with idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (IHP). In sera from 3 of 8 patients with PTAb-CS, binding of these autoantibodies to their respective parathyroid cell surface antigen(s) resulted in marked inhibition of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion in an in vitro dispersed human parathyroid cell (dPTC) system. In 1 subject evaluated longitudinally, circulating levels of PTAb-CS, and the magnitude of the inhibitory effect on PTH secretion, temporally correlated with the clinical course of the hypoparathyroidism. These findings suggest a causative role for antibodies directed against cell surface antigens in parathyroid dysfunction in some cases of "autoimmune" hypoparathyroidism.