Immunoassay of Human Calcitonin

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Abstract
A radioimmunoassay using 131I-labeled synthetic human calcitonin and antiserum to human calcitonin revealed normal basal levels of the peptide in serum of 0.02 to 0.4 ng per milliliter. Calcium infusion produced a twofold to threefold rise in serum calcitonin in most control subjects. Chronic hypercalcemia was not regularly associated with elevated serum calcitonin, and calcitonin levels were normal in six patients with chronic hypocalcemia. In medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland basal serum calcitonin was 1 to 540 ng per milliliter. Calcitonin levels correlated with the extent of disease. In patients with medullary carcinoma, serum calcitonin responses to calcium and glucagon infusions tended to be greater than in control subjects. Results of family studies suggest that the immunoassay may prove useful in the early diagnosis of this tumor among high-risk persons. We conclude that calcitonin normally circulates in human serum, that its concentration may not always correlate directly with serum calcium, and that immunoassay is a useful method for measuring calcitonin in human disease.

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