Parathyroid Hormone Related Protein - A Skeletal Biomarker – A Review

Abstract

The discovery of Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) was through its structural and functional
homology with parathyroid hormone. It is secreted by cancers and it interacts with parathyroid hormone
receptors in kidney and bone to cause humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy and paraneoplastic syndrome and
plays an important role in cellular differentiation and proliferation, embryonic development, transepithelial
calcium transport and in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction.Its intracrine, paracrine and endocrine
modes of action play a central role in organogenesis and drives numerous physiologic and pathologic
conditions.It is initially translated as a preprohormone which is posttranslationally processed to yield a
family of mature secretory forms. The aminoterminal portion of the molecule is homologous to parathyroid
hormone.As PTHrP plays a vital role in the regulation of endochondral bone development it was surmised
that it could also serve as an ideal biologic skeletal maturity indicator to detect peak pubertal growth spurt.