Ultrastructure of the water-clear cell in the parathyroid gland of SAMP6 mice.
Although the parathyroid water-clear cell is very rare, it has clinical significance because of its association with parathyroid hyperplasia or adenoma. SAMP6, a substrain of senescence-accelerated mouse, was developed as an animal model for senile osteoporosis. We investigated the morphology of the parathyroid glands in SAMP6 and age-matched normal mouse SAMR1. The parathyroid water-clear cells, which contained numerous vacuoles and the crystalloid inclusions, were found in SAMP6 mice at 5, 8 and 12 months of age. It was noted that the number of water-clear cells increased with aging, which are fairly consistent with the change of the serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) level. We did not find any water-clear cells in the parathyroid glands of SAMR1 mice. The existence of water-clear cells may represent hyperfunction of the parathyroid glands in SAMP6.
Chen
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H
Department of Anatomy, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194, Japan. huayue@cc.gifu-u.ac.jp
Emura
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Shoumura
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D019588:Aging, Premature / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D051379:Mice; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D010280:Parathyroid Glands / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013045:Species Specificity