Cisplatin (CDDP) a potent antitumor agent suffers from severe toxic side effects with nephrotoxicity being the major dose-limiting factor, The primary mechanism of its action has been proposed to be through its cross-linking DNA strands. It has also been shown to inactivate various transport enzymes and induce hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia that may be the underlying cause for some of its toxicities. The present is an effort to study its influence on the parathyroid gland for any hormonal changes that control calcium levels in the body.Male Swiss Wistar rats (Crl: (WI) BR) weighing 200-300 g and of 60 days in age were injected (ip) with cisplatin (7mg/kg in normal saline). The controls received saline injections only. The animals were injected (iv) with calcium (0.5 ml of 10% calcium gluconate/day) and were killed by decapitation on day 1 through 5. Trunk blood was collected in heparinized tubes.
