Parathyroid oxyphil cells are one out of the two types of cells found in the parathyroid gland, the other being

parathyroid chief cell Parathyroid chief cells (also called parathyroid principal cells or simply parathyroid cells, C-cells, or parafollicular cells) are one of the two cell types of the parathyroid glands, along with oxyphil cells. The chief cells are much more preva ...

. Oxyphil cells are only found in a select few number of species and humans are one of them. These cells can be found in clusters in the center of the section and at the periphery. Oxyphil cells appear at the onset of puberty, but have no known function. It is perceived that oxyphil cells may be derived from chief cells at puberty, as they are not present at birth like chief cells. Oxyphil cells increase in number with age.

Structure

Oxyphil cells may be binucleated and proteins found within their cytoplasms are basic, resulting in acidophilic cytoplasms. Cytochemically, oxyphil cells and C cells are fairly similar. Oxyphil cells are much larger in size (12–20 μm) compared with chief cells (6–8 μm) and also stain lighter than chief cells. Oxyphil cells have a cytoplasm filled with many, large mitochondria. Oxyphil cells have abundant cytoplasmic glycogen and ribosomes that are interspersed between the mitochondria. The endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatuses, and secretory granules are poorly developed in oxyphil cells of normal parathyroid glands

Function

With

nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is " radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emi ...

scans, they selectively take up the

Technetium Technetium is a chemical element with the symbol Tc and atomic number 43. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. All available technetium is produced as a synthetic element. Naturally occurring technetium is a spontaneous ...

- sestamibi complex radiotracer to allow delineation of glandular anatomy. Oxyphil cells have been shown to express parathyroid-relevant genes found in the chief cells and have the potential to produce additional autocrine/paracrine factors, such as parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) and

calcitriol Calcitriol is the active form of vitamin D, normally made in the kidney. It is also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. It is a hormone which binds to and activates the vitamin D receptor in the nucleus of the cell, which then increases the ...

. Oxyphil cells have also been shown to have higher oxidative and

hydrolytic Hydrolysis (; ) is any chemical reaction in which a molecule of water breaks one or more chemical bonds. The term is used broadly for substitution, elimination, and solvation reactions in which water is the nucleophile. Biological hydrolysi ...

enzyme activity Enzyme assays are laboratory methods for measuring enzymatic activity. They are vital for the study of enzyme kinetics and enzyme inhibition. Enzyme units The quantity or concentration of an enzyme can be expressed in molar amounts, as with a ...

than chief cells due to having more mitochondria. Oxyphil cells have significantly more

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 parathyroi ...

s (CaSRs) than chief cells. More work needs to be done to fully understand the functions of these cells and their secretions.

References

Endocrine cells Human cells Parathyroid {{Cell-biology-stub

Structure

Function

See also

References