Calcilytics are

pharmaceutical drug A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

s that act as

antagonists An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

at the

calcium-sensing receptor The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a Class C G-protein coupled receptor which senses extracellular levels of calcium ions. It is primarily expressed in the parathyroid gland, the renal tubules of the kidney and the brain. In the parathyroid ...

(CaSR). This increases the secretion of

parathyroid hormone Parathyroid hormone (PTH), also called parathormone or parathyrin, is a peptide hormone secreted by the parathyroid glands that regulates the serum calcium concentration through its effects on bone, kidney, and intestine. PTH influences bone r ...

(PTH), which has a temporary

anabolic Anabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that construct molecules from smaller units. These reactions require energy, known also as an endergonic process. Anabolism is the building-up aspect of metabolism, whereas catabolism is the breaking-d ...

effect on

bone tissue A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, and ...

, producing an increase in both bone volume and

bone density Bone density, or bone mineral density, is the amount of bone mineral in bone tissue. The concept is of mass of mineral per volume of bone (relating to density in the physics sense), although clinically it is measured by proxy according to op ...

due to increased bone deposition and resorption. However, long term use of these causes resorption, degrading the bone to raise blood calcium. Consequently, these drugs have been researched for the treatment of osteoporosis, though with only limited success. More recent research has suggested a number of additional applications for these drugs, such as hyperresponsiveness and

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

in allergic

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

Examples

NPS-2143 NPS-2143 (SB-262,470A) is a calcilytic drug which acts as an antagonist at the Calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), and consequently stimulates release of parathyroid hormone. Calcilytic drugs have been researched as potential treatments for osteopor ...

* ATF-936 * AXT-914

References

{{reflist, 32em