Microcapsulated parathyroid tissue in vitro.
Ideally, microcapsules will make it possible to transplant parathyroid tissue for allo- and xenotransplantation in hypoparathyroid patients. In this study, parathyroid tissues capsulated by polyelectrolyte complex were evaluated in vitro. Hormone secretion ability was significantly (P < 0.001) greater in sediment than in supernatant. There was no difference in hormone secretion ability between the parathyroid tissue thawed at room temperature and the tissue thawed in a bath at 37 degrees C. Both non-capsulated and capsulated parathyroid tissues were incubated for three weeks. The ability of capsulated parathyroid to secrete hormones in vitro was reduced gradually and disappeared within three weeks. There are still several problems to be solved before the clinical application of parathyroid allotransplantation using microcapsulation.