Culture of Parathyroid Cells

The human parathyroid glands are comprised of several cell types, and the parathyroid chief cell is the most frequent, consisting of approx 40-70% in a normal parathyroid gland. Other cell types are fibroblasts, oxyphil cells, and fat-storing cells. The oxyphil cells are mitochondria-rich acidophilic cells interspersed between the chief cells and spread throughout the gland (1 ). The fatstoring cells in some respects resemble the Ito cells in the liver (2 ). The amount of fat correlates to the activity of the gland, meaning that an active hyperplastic gland contains less fat than a normal parathyroid cell. This phenomenon has been used as a tool for diagnosing pathological features in extirpated parathyroid glands by performing the rather easy oil red O fat staining (1 ).