Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) related hypercalcaemia is considered to represent a risk factor for the development of pancreatitis. We therefore explored whether mutations in the calcium-sensing receptor gene ( CASR) coding for the calcium-sensing receptor (CaR), an essential regulator of the calcium homeostasis in parathyroid chief cells, exist in a cohort of patients with pHPT and pancreatitis.
Methods: Among 826 patients prospectively studied between 1987 and 2002 with pHPT, 38 patients were identified with pancreatitis (4.6%). DNA was available of 25 patients (13 females and 12 males). These individuals were analysed for mutations in the CASR by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and DNA sequencing.
Results: None of the 25 patients with pHPT and pancreatitis carried a CASR mutation and only one had a known heterozygous polymorphism R990G.
Conclusions: Pancreatitis in primary hyperparathyroidism is not associated with mutations in the CASR gene, while it remains to be determined why the polymorphisms A986S, R990G and Q1011E were less often present in that subgroup than in the normal population.