Parathyroid secretion: discovery of a major calcium-dependent protein.

Bovine parathyroid tissue incubated in vitro secretes a protein that is distinct from both parathyroid hormone and proparathyroid hormone and comprises about 50 percent of the total secreted protein. This protein appears to be an aggregate consisting of two or more subunits of molecular weight 70,000 as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Although the function of this protein is unknown, the secretion rates of both the protein and parathyroid hormone respond in parallel to changes in the concentration of calcium in the medium.