Experimental lung research
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Hormonal regulation of compensatory lung growth is not well understood, but it may be similar to that during compensatory growth of other organs. Liver regeneration is blocked by hypocalcemia in thyroparathyroidectomized (TPX) animals. Although calcium status is an important regulator of growth in many biological systems, the effect of TPX on compensatory lung growth is unknown. ⋯ Similarly, TPX had no effect on the postpneumonectomy increase in right lung mass, which reached 118% (p < .01) of that in TPX controls. Analysis of right lung DNA, RNA, and protein concentrations on day 9 revealed that tissue macromolecule content increased postoperatively in both PNX and TPX/PNX rats in proportion to lung growth. These results demonstrate that postpneumonectomy compensatory growth of the lung is not blocked in the thyroparathyroprivic hypocalcemic rat.