The effect of porcine calcitonin on intestinal calcium and phosphate fluxes in the young piglet

Abstract

The effects of a physiological (3.8 ng∙mL−1) and a pharmacological (120 ng∙mL−1) concentration of porcine calcitonin (CT) on transmucosal calcium and phosphate flux rates were determined in intestinal mucosa from young piglets (4–40 days) mounted in Ussing flux chambers. The physiological concentration of the hormone inhibited net absorptive calcium flux rates in the proximal jejunum and distal ileum but not in the duodenum. No effect of either concentration of CT on phosphate flux rates was observed. The inhibitory effect of the physiological concentration may indicate a role for CT in the maintenance of calcium homeostasis in the young suckling mammal.