RESUMO
Background: Cell therapy could be an alternative for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism. Therefore efforts have been made to establish a cell line of parathyroid cells. Aim: To establish a continuous functional and non-tumorigenic human parathyroid cell line. Material and Methods: Nineteen tissue samples from 15 patients subjected to parathyroidectomy due to primary or secondary hyperparathyroidism were obtained. Functional, morphological and tumorigenic properties of the obtained cells were analyzed. Results: After two months of culture in conditions of immortalization, cells had an exponential growth without experiencing senescence. Therefore, more than 200 sub cultures have been performed. The cell line was denominated RCPTH. Morphological characterization showed monolayer growth with contact inhibition and a duplication time of 30 hours. On light microscopy, pleomorphism and low number of mitoses were observed. Cells accumulated glycogen, expressed calcium sensing receptor and had positive PTH cytoplasmic clusters. The line secreted PTH initially but subsequently, PTH production became undetectable. The cell line did not have tumor or metastatic growth. Conclusions: A parathyroid cell line has been established. The lack of PTH production is a problem that will require the search for mechanisms to activate it.