Continuous rhPTH (1-34) treatment in chronic hypoparathyroidism.

Summary: Standard treatment of hypoparathyroidism consists of supplementation of calcium and vitamin D analogues, which does not fully restore calcium homeostasis. In some patients, hypoparathyroidism is refractory to standard treatment with persistent low serum calcium levels and associated clinical complications. Here, we report on three patients (58-year-old male, 52-year-old female, and 48-year-old female) suffering from severe treatment-refractory postsurgical hypoparathyroidism.

Oncogenic deletion mutants of gp130 signal from intracellular compartments.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and, hence, activation of the IL-6 receptor signalling subunit glycoprotein 130 (gp130; also known as interleukin-6 receptor subunit β, IL6ST), has been linked to inflammation and tumour formation. Recently, deletion mutations in gp130 have been identified in inflammatory hepatocellular adenoma. The mutations clustered around one IL-6-binding epitope and rendered gp130 constitutively active in a ligand-independent manner.

gp130 activation is regulated by D2-D3 interdomain connectivity.

Activation of the IL-6 (interleukin 6) receptor subunit gp130 (glycoprotein 130) has been linked to the formation of complexes with IL-6 and the IL-6 receptor, as well as to gp130 dimerization. However, it has been shown that gp130 is present as a pre-formed dimer, indicating that its activation is not solely dependent on dimerization. Therefore the detailed mechanism of gp130 activation still remains to be deciphered.