Development of hypertension in WKY rats after transplantation of parathyroid glands from SHR/SP.

We have investigated the role of the parathyroid gland (PTG) in the long-term development of blood pressure (BP) in stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR/SP) and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. After ablation of their own PTGs, SHR/SP animals received PTGs from WKY rats and vice versa. Transplantation resulted in a normal calcium and parathyroid hormone status without signs of hypoparathyroidism. All animals received a high salt diet (8% NaCl) for 4 weeks after transplantation of PTGs. In SHR/SP, which received PTGs from WKY, development of high BP was clearly attenuated when compared to sham-operated SHR/SP rats. WKY rats with PTGs from SHR/SP rats became hypertensive, while WKY sham-operated animals remained normotensive. PTGs from SHR/SP rats are able to induce hypertension in normotensive WKY rats.