Lecture 22: Calcium and Magnesium, physiology and disorder Flashcards
What are the crucial functions of calcium?
- essential co-factor in enzymatic processes such as coagulation and mitosis
- Intracellular second messenger
- Skeletal support
- used for muscular contraction and tone
What is the distribution of calcium in the body?
99% of body calcium is in the skeleton
1% is in the ECF
Of the 99% in skeleton, only 1% of that 99% is exchangeable with blood upon hormonal stimuli
ECF Ca = 1-3 mM
ICF Ca = <10^-3 mM
-thus there is a very favorable gradient for calcium to flow into the cell
Calcium inside of the cell is kept VERY LOW, and even when calcium does come into the cell due to the steep gradient, Ca is sequestered by binding proteins, the mitochondria, by SRC ATPase, etc
What is the distribution of calcium in the blood?
40% of blood calcium is bound to protein (albumin)
10% is part of circulating complexes (with phosphate, citrate, etc)
50% is in free ionized form
-this is the active fraction
The complex and free ionized (60%) are filtered in kidney, whereas those bound to protein are not
What consists of the biologically active portion of calcium? Significance?
Only the FREE ionized fraction
Significance: If you have low serum albumin, you reduce the total serum calcium, but not the ionized fraction
-thus you have low total serum calcium but is irrelevant since there is no change in free calcium in serum
Corrected serum Ca = serum calcium + 0.8 * (4 – serum albumin)
Free ionized calcium can be measured directly by ion sensitive electrode
What is the acid-base effect on free ionized and protein bound calcium?
Hydrogen ion competes with calcium for albumin binding
In acidemia, less calcium is bound to albumin and more is in free ionized fraction
Thus higher the pH, the more calcium is bound to albumin, the less calcium is freely floating, because there is less H+ to compete for albumin binding sites
What is a likely causes of hypocalcemia if patient’s total serum calcium is reduced but shows no signs of hypocalcemia?
Patients = acidotic, so less calcium bound to albumin but more calcium in serum to protect from effects of hypocalcemia
How does alkalosis lead to hypocalcemia symptoms?
Alkalosis = more calcium bound to albumin = less free ionized calcium = hypocalcium
How is calcium steady-state regulated in the body?
- Intestine
- regulated by Vit D
- Kidney
- regulated by CaSR
- Bone
- regulated by PTH
What are the hormones/factors that regulate calcium metabolism?
- Vitamin D regulates absorption of Ca from blood
- more vitamin D = more Ca absorption
- PTH regulates Ca resorption from the bone
- more PTH = more Ca in serum due to breakdown of bone
- Calcium levels in lumen of nephron regulate excretion by acting on calcium sensing receptors (CaSR)
What are the characteristics of PTH?
Binds to cell surface receptors in bone and kidney
Secretion is regulated by plasma calcium concentration
More calcium = less PTH
Negative feedback loop
Has the following function:
1. increases osteoclastic resorption
-acts directly on osteoblasts to activate osteoclasts
2. increases calcium reabsorption
3. stimulates 1,25 vit D synthesis
-thus indirectly affects GI uptake
4. decreases phosphate absorption/increases phosphate excretion
What are the characteristics of the calcium sensing receptors?
- located in parathyroid and LoH/DCT of nephron
- in the parathyroid, activation if CaSR will downregulate PTH synthesis
- in the kidney, activation of CaSR will suppress calcium transport in LoH/DCT
What is PTH related peptide (PTHrP)?
A peptide that is usually locally acting for cartilage differentiation and lactation
But if PTHrP levels are high enough, it can have similar actions to PTH
What is calcidiol?
25 OH vitamin D
Storage and plasma metabolite
What is calcitriol?
1,25 OH vitamin D
The most active form of vitamin D
What does one measure to determine vitamin D levels?
Calcidiol levels, since this is the storage unit
Vitamin D is a very ambiguous term: Can be the parent vitamin D (ergocalciferol/cholecalciferol) Calcidiol (storage of vit D) Calcitriol = active form of vit D So three forms
How is vitamin D made?
- dietary vitamin D
- UV light + 7 dehydrocholesterol in the skin
Usually is 25 hydroxyation takes place in the liver
1,25 hydroxylation occurs in the kidney
What are the actions of calcitriol?
- increases calcium and phosphate absorption
- increases activity of luminalintestinal calcium channel (TRPV6), albindin and basolateral active calcium transporters
- suppresses PTH transcription
- binds to vitamin D receptor in nucleus of parathyroid cells
- increases renal tubular calcium reabsorption
- Increases osteoblast/osteoclast activity
- potentiates PTH action
In kidney failure, most electrolytes accumulate because they cannot be secreted (example is hypernatremia with volume overload). Why then do you get HYPOcalcemia in kidney failure?
Because calcium levels are regulated at the level of the GI tract
In kidney failure, calcitriol and intestinal calcium absorption fall, therefore making the serum calcium fall as well
How is calcium handled along the nephron?
Parallels that of Na reabsorption
65% of Ca reabsorbed in PCT
25% of Ca reabsorbed in TAL
How is calcium reabsorbed in the proximal tubule?
- passive paracellular transport
- Solvent drag
- some calcium channels in the apical membrane
Calcium is basically reabsorbed with sodium
What is the significance of salt and calcium reabsorption being so closely linked?
Salt loading = calciuric (you want to excrete more salt and hence excrete more calcium)
Salt depletion = anticalciuric (because you need to reabsorb more salt and hence more Ca)
What is the only ion that is NOT primarily reabsorbed in the proximal tubule?
Magnesium
Only 15-25% of filtered magnesium is rebsorbed in prox tubule
How is calcium uptake regulated in the TAL?
Calcium will bind to CaSR and INHIBIT NKCC2 tranporters as well as ROMK transporters,
Thereby inhibiting sodium reuptake
This makes sense because if you have too much calcium in tubule, you would want to excrete more, and the only way you can secrete Ca is if you secrete Na concomitantly too
Thus calcium is natriuretic as well
Mechanism: lowers level of cAMP to decrease NKCC2 transporter
Thus CaSR and PTH have OPPOSITE effects on TAL, since CaSR downregulates cAMP and thus NKCC2 where as PTH upregulates cAMP and thus NKCC2
How is calcium reabsorbed in the TAL?
Usually the NKCC2 channel creates a positive lumen gradient that allows Ca and Mg to diffuse paracellularly into the blood
How does magnesium affect calcium transport?
Since magnesium and calcium are reabsorbed in the same way, Mg can also activate CaSR to decrease cAMP and shut down NKCC2
Thus hypermagnesemia = effects of hypercalcemia = natriuresis, calciuresis and magniuresis
Magnesium also binds the CaSR in the parathyroid as well!!
What are the characteristics of normal calcium levels?
- normal Ca serum = 8.8-10.3 mg/dL
- Serum Ca is lower in woman, so women with 10 mg/dL of Ca may have hypercalcemia
- 7-12 mg/dL fluctuation = asymptomatic
What are the three possible causes of hypercalcemia?
- increased absorption from intestine
- Increased resorption from bone
- Decreased excretion by the kidney
Normally these processes are balanced
Usually are multiple mechanisms for hypercalcemia (individual kidney excretion defect for example doesn’t usually cause hypercalcemia because of gut regulation)
-kidney only plays a maintenance role in hypercalcemia in order to maintain steady state
What are the clinical manifestations of hypercalcemia?
- Asymptomatic (80% of cases, usually during screening)
- Non-specific symptoms (typically calcium over 12 mg/dL)
- Neuropsychiatric
- fatigue, vomiting, depression, altered mental status
- Renal
- cardiac
- short QT, sensitivity to digitalis intoxication, Ventricular fibrillation
What are the renal manifestations of hypercalcemia?
- Polyuria (nephrogenic diabetes insipidus)
- Natriuresis
- Nephrolithiasis
- Renal insufficiency
i. acute and reversible = ECF volume contraction and glomerular vasoconstriction
ii. Chronic and irreversible = nephrocalcinosis
What does hypercalcemia do to the collecting duct?
Inhibits ADH action on collecting duct, and thus downregulates aquaporin activity
Thus you get polyuria
This is important in order to protect against kidney stones, so you want to get more calcium out of body through increasing urine output
How does hypercalcemia lead to acute renal failure?
Due to volume contraction (remember natriuresis is taking place as well)
Also due to calcium-mediated mesangial contraction in glomeruli as well, which reduces GFR
If hypercalcemia persists, calcium deposits in renal parenchyma can cause irreversible kidney damage
-nephrocalcinosis
What is nephrocalcinosis?
Calcium deposits in renal parenchyma
Can cause irreversible kidney damage
Different from nephrolithiasis, because kidney stones are in the renal collecting system rather than in the parenchyma itself
Nephrolithiasis does not cause renal failure, just pain
IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE
What are the causes of hypercalcemia?
- Primary hyperparathyroidism
- Malignancy
- Vitamin D
- Milk-alkali syndrome (Calcium-alkali syndrome as Goldfarb calls it)
- Thiazides
- Immobilization
What are the key characteristics of primary hyperparathyroidism?
Most common cause of hypercalcemia
Presents on incidental discovery usually
Cause of kidney stones, osteoporosis and kidney injury
Patient demographic: 45+ yo and female
What are the characteristics of hypercalcemia due to malignancy?
- prevalence = 10-20% of patients with cancer
- Most common cancers include
i. breast
ii. lung
iii. multiple myeloma - Hypercalcemia tends to be severe and short duration
- Osteolytic metastases or humorally mediated
Bad prognostic sign
What are the humoral mediators of hypercalcemia of malignancy?
- PTH related peptide
- can be produced in carcinomas/lymphomas
- 80%-90% of patients
- Lymphotoxin
- found in multiple myeloma
- mediates bone resorption
- Calcitriol (which can be produced by hodgkins/non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas)
- too much absorption leads to hypercalcemia
What are the characteristics of vitamin D mediated hypercalcemia?
Vitamin D intoxication, usually iatrogenic
-used to treat renal failure or hypoparathyroidism
Granulomatous disease
i. unregulated production of calcitriol by macrophages
ii. Sarcoidosis, berylliosis, fungal diseases, TB
iii. Lymphoma
All of which increases calcitriol production