Parathyroid chief cell

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Parathyroid chief cells are cells in the parathyroid glands which produce parathyroid hormone.

The end result of increased secretion by the chief cells of a parathyroid gland is an increase in the serum level of Calcium. Parathyroid chief cells constitute one of the few cell types of the body that regulate intracellular calcium levels as a consequence of extracellular (or serum) changes in calcium concentration.

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is sensitive to an increase in serum calcium, and stimulates the uptake of calcium by the parathyroid chief cell. This mechanism is critically important, as it describes a physiological feed-back loop by which parathyroid hormone secretion is down-regulated in response to a restoration of serum calcium.